Any thoughts on the Tesoro Golden U-max...

I understand they had old tones originally and tones were changed and now the unit has been pulled by Tesoro. Would like some input on users both old and new tones as used older Tesoro notch units and although not depth monsters they did like gold jewelry especially the small stuff..

I had one with the new tones. The notch feature worked good but overall the detector did not work for me because the one I had would call the small can slaw as a high tone coin. In the local parks and places I hunt there is usually no shortage of this type of targets so it would not be good to dig many holes chasing can slaw that ring up as coins in public parks. Depth was not very good either.

I had one for a short while but I guess I am too spoiled by newer detectors. I tried the Golden/Clean Sweep out as an alternative to my DFX/Bigfoot. In both cases I am not looking for depth so that was not the issue. After using the DFX the Golden just seemed too limited in what it could do although I did like the light weight. I liked the coil more than the detector so I still have a Clean Sweep but no detector to run it!

Steve Herschbach
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From what I understand Tesoro has pulled it from its lineup. Who knows perhaps they have learned from their mistakes and revamping it.
Too many notches-tones for my liking and would like to see a remake of the older two tone Tesoro notch units with the regular pinpoint.
A toggle for regular or VCO pinpoint and manual ground balance and less tones and notches would be welcomed by many...

Tesoro has not pulled it, nor are they updating the unit. I checked. They ran into a production problem, reportedly with the computer program on the machinery used to produce the Golden and they are working on getting it fixed. I just called Tesoro about it yesterday. There is absolutely no problem with the units currently in the hands of users and no bad units were sold.

As to my opinion of Golden, how good it is depends on what you plan on doing with it. If you are a deep coin hunter, forget it. If you are a beach hunter who goes into the wet sand, forget it. The Golden isn't for you, IMO. If you need manual ground balance, forget it. The Golden is fixed.

However, for my personal applications, I have never used a better detector. It simply suits me and my hunting style the best. I can accept all targets or cherry pick as much as I want. When my notching is set, the only junk high tone targets I might dig are crushed aluminum cans or huge chunks of metal, both of which overwhelm the detector. Of course, those kinds of targets tend to overwhelm most detectors.

So how good the Golden is really depends on you and what you applications are. For me, there is no finer detector for my style of hunting. For you, the Golden might nearly be worthless. That's the tough part about giving opinions on detectors. The one that might be perfect for you is the same one I can't wait to get rid of.

Its my favorite coin and jewlery hunter, provided I am not looking for deep old silver (there are no sources for that where I happen to live). Hope all that helps a little.

yup i agree with you smudge!

Right on Smudge for local parks where depth is not an issue Tesoro notch units excell for coins and especially gold jewelry especially the small stuff and have used all the previous Tesoro notch units but not the newest golden. Thanks for the update and apparently got some bad info from my sources and in future have to call the manufacturer
and get it from the horses mouth. Seeing some used ones for sale just thought I would ask and thanks for the info....
PS: nothing like holding a unit in your hands and trying but can get expensive so I try to research before leaping....

I don't blame you Dan. I've learned that I'm pretty picky about detectors and what I'm looking for. It took a lot of trial and error to get where I'm at and I'll admit to going thorugh a lot of machines to get there.

Dan, I have had a couple of Golden Umaxs over the years and once I figured out the notch system, I started having success with gold jewelery. I did not find it to be a very deep detector, nor did it handle mineralized ground very good. I set the notch up with my wedding ring, nickels, and a variety of tabs. I did find the that a notched out target to be a scratchy signal compared to a good target and you had to pay close attention to how clear it really was to deteremine whether to dig or not. I do remember finding two gold wedding bands within a three day period when I had the notch set properly. There is a youtube video by a fellow that explains the notch in a manner that even I can understand. I did find the old tones, especially the middle tones to be too close together on the original version. The high tone on copper or silver was absolutely no problem picking out. Supposedly the new tones address this problem. All in all a near perfect playground detector. A guy named "Wade" on the other forum has a new tone version for sale. I have dealt with him and he is a good guy. I think he wants 350, which is good price for a nice conditoned Golden. I wish Tesoro could put a manual ground balance on it. The preset ground balance makes it a 5 or 6 inch deep detector in my bad ground.

RL glad you up and running.....and good luck with your new CZ.....Yep Wade had a beauty for sale and like you have dealth with him and found him to be a nice guy....unfortunately too much research and he traded it off....