In short the answer is "No"
This is the FAQ section from the Basic Ear Training Website www.myspace.com/BETFE
Can I ear train with this CD if I hunt with a GT?
First I would tell you to listen to the sample clip on the audio player. It has clean samples of Penny (Clad) signals and Dime (Clad) signals. You can compare them to how the Penny and Dime sound on your Sovereign.
I find the sounds are related but NOT the same. In fact when I hunt with my GT it throws off my ear a bit in my signal recognition. Thus I would recommend against using the BETFE CD to train for hunting with the GT. (The CD will help in learning a fundamental approach to how you listen and evaluate the sounds)
I have been hunting with my Excal for years and I know it inside out...Do I need this CD?
No, The BETFE CD is a resource for new Excal owners or for those who do not get out often enough to build confidence in their signal recognition.
What settings did you use on your Excal when recording the signals?
Discrimination: Minimum possible
Volume: 1:00
Sensitivity: 10:00
Threshold: Just under audible (very slight but you have to stretch to listen for it)
Is there a difference in the signals between the Excal and Excal II signal tones?
The signals are the same. The Excal II has a slightly faster attack, sustain and release. I believe this is due to the Tornado coil. But the voicing of the signals is the same. I have verified this on tape with side by side comparisons.
Are you considering doing Ear Training CD's with other detectors?
Possibly, it depends on the feedback and need from the detectorist community. The Excal was the ideal detector for an Ear Training CD because the coil and headphones tend to be common to most Excal hunters. A GT might have a WOT coil with Gray Ghost or Rat Ear phones and suddenly there are too many variables that can influence the sound.
Why Do I need an Ear Training CD if I dig everything?
If you dig everything you do not need an ear training CD! But the point of eartraining is to help you master your detector. The one rule constantly emphasized on the CD is to 'Read the conditions and apply your eartraining accordingly'.
Discrimination through ear training is an acquired skill that you can turn on or off as you read your hunting environment. But if you do not have the skill you cannot access it when you need it. Thus there is no debating that knowing your detector better will make you a more effective detectorist. The art of detecting with Excalibur is when, where and to what degree you apply your ear training abilities.
Why is this Ear Training CD Unique?
This CD is the first time that principles of sound engineering have been applied to detecting signal recognition. It establishes terminology and definitions for the science of listening to these signals and the art of applying them.
Some of the concepts defined and discussed are: Signal Quality, Signal Shape, Attack, Sustain, Release, Signal Tone and Signal Intensity. Also concepts like the rule of "A high frequency of sameness" as well as a "water bias" Again concepts like "Fresh Ears" and "Signal Checks" are covered in detail. Sonic Signatures and Sonic Markers as well as Classic vs Anomaly gold are explained and discussed as well.
In summary there is simply nothing else like this CD on the market. For example: How do you verbally explain to someone the difference between a nickle signal, an aluminum poptop signal and a gold ring?
The answer is you "Play Clear samples of the signals right next to each other for A-B comparisons. Then you can point out the differences and the sonic signatures of each target.
What is the Sonic Marker for Aluminum? For Bottlecaps? For Gold? For Silver? All covered with samples and side by side comparisons on the CD.
Is Ear Training an effective way of identifying all signals?
No, The deeper a target is and the more worn/weathered a target is the harder it is to try and identify by ear. This is noticeable on signals such as bottlecaps where they can sound "round" when they are deep and yet when you get closer or dump them out of the scoop you can hear the broken sustain and classic bottle cap sound.
On the CD you say "read your conditions and adjust your ear training accordingly. Can you give an example of this?
Knowing your hunting environment is critical. A penny signal could be a very critical dig if you know that you are on an old lakeside beach that can produce Indian Head Pennies or perhaps a Flying Eagle.
Why is there so much confusion about what "Gold" sounds like?
When I first started hunting with Excalibur I was told Gold sounds like Bottlecaps. It doesn't. I have read advice on the forums saying it sounds like Pulltabs while others say it sounds like Nickles. In fact Gold sounds like Gold. Pulltabs sound like Pulltabs. A subset of Gold can sound like Pulltabs. Thus once you understand the overlap and hear the sounds next to each other it adds alot of clarity to what sounds like what. The Nickle gets alot of good press because it has a long smooth attack, a round sustain and a long smooth release. But a Nickle does NOT sound like the classic Excal gold signals.
Hearing the various signals next to each other really clears up the differences. Understanding "anomaly gold" helps to clarify the similarities and how it applies to the hunt.
How do you use the CD?
Since I have heard it often I tend to listen to the Beach Hunting Review Module. I like it because it moves along at a good pace and it is easy to contrast the common signals. Once you have listened to the "Signal Revew Chapter" a few times you will know what to listen for in the respective signals. After a while you will gravitate towards the "Training Runs" and "Beach Hunting Review Module"
Do you hunt the dry sand differently than you hunt the wet sand and water?
Yes...The dry sand has more trash and this can actually be helpful in that your ear is contantly being refreshed. In effect the large amount of trash signals help to maintain your relative pitch. In the dry sand I pass all bottlecaps and if it is very trashy I pass on the poptops with pronounced mids. I still end up digging some poptops in that some of them have a shade more of grainyness that makes me want to check them out. Yes you do have more of a chance of missing the anomoly gold but you cover more ground this way. Again if it does not sound exactly like a pop top (ear checks) I dig them.
Why should I ear train with a CD when I have been advised to "pay my dues and learn the machine by digging"?
The advice to "learn as much as possible by digging as much as possible" is excellent advice. It is the ultimate means of becoming one with your machine. But why not do both? By ear training you can DRAMATICALLY speed up the learning curve. In effect you are learning by tapping into someone elses advice and experience. You then take the pearls and lessons learned and you apply them to your treasure hunting. When I was in the military I remember shooting an M16 similator. It was a great tool but not meant to replace the process of live fire with a real M16.
Thus there is currently a controversy on the forums as to the viability of learning from recorded sounds. The current argument seems to be split between those who say "it works" and those who say "it will not". I do not buy into either side as for me the question is "can it help"? Will it give you valuable insights into the temperment and personality of your detector? Can it give you pointers and insights into how to listen and what to listen for? Will it help you decide when to apply these teaching points and when to just dig everything? I know the answers to these questions is a resounding yes!!!
I also know the old timers are right when they say get out and use your machine as much as possible! The 2 points supplement each other! Ear training and live hunting are inseparable. Live hunts will always have the edge on real world conditions. A CD will always have the edge on the convenience factor. Also bear in mind that a CD like a book is only as good as the person that made it. And finally the Excalibur is the "saxophone" of all metal detectors. It gives a wealth of nuance of information that most detectors cannot emulate. The excal does not have a screen because it does not need one.
Can you give some examples of where your ability to discriminate by ear has helped you?
On one occasion I was hunting a fresh water beach that was infested with trash. Every sweep of the coil yielded 4 or 5 trash signals. I had observed other detectorists getting bogged down with digging all the signals. I passed on all bottlecaps and took the leap of faith and passed on most (but not all) of the pulltabs. Within an hour I had a 14k gold chain, 3 gold rings and 5 silver.
Also I have quite a few times been shoulder deep water hunting only to discover a nice trough when the tide happened to be coming in. These are the type of troughs where you have a pocket of signals. On one occasion everytime a big swell would break over the sandbar it would pick me up and move me about 10 feet. (I was not wearing my weightbelt) So I decided to trust my ears and dig the "High Prob" Tones. I ended up 2 nickles and a nice 18k blue Topaz ring.
What is the best way to apply the teaching points from this CD?
The CD is a learning tool that simply speeds up the learning curve for knowing your Excalibur. It tells you what sounds trend like, where they differ and where they overlap. It also discusses variables that influence how you apply your signal skills....But importantly you are the one that decides when and how to apply your recognition skills. Bear in mind some people can hear better than others. Thus they may be more confident in passing on certain types of signals
Why do some hunters seem adamantly against using a recorded sound CD to speed up the learning curve for excalibur?
I have noticed that it usually involves 2 things. One is the misperception that I am telling people to dig or pass based on tone. The CD is so much more than tones. Just understanding Shape and Attack, Sustain Release is critical to recognizing targets. I also emphasize on the CD that reading your site is also critical to applying your ear training. I have a great example of this....I was waterhunting waist deep in a recurrent trough and was hitting pop top signals. This was a trough that had produced nice rings for me in the past so I had already scooped two pop tops. I then heard a pop top signal and I knew it was a poptop when I heard it. I was positive. But the voice in the back of my head said, "Hey you are working a recurrent trough, you have found some nice rings here". So I dug the signal. I was wonderfully wrong as it was an anomoly white gold ring with small diamonds.
My ear training alone would have lost me that target but by accurately reading the site I still scored the ring.
The second thing is the misperception that the CD discourages the new excal user from digging everything when they are first starting out. In fact BETFE says to dig everything at first after making your mental pick of what you think the target is. This makes perfect sense and is the only way you will build your confidence in your ears.
How do I build my confidence in my ear training skills?
The way to do this is by studying the sounds both in the field on on the CD. Then when you are in the field you make your mental picks before you dig. So if you find you call it a penny and it is always a penny you know you have a good ear for hearing the penny signals. Thus by initially picking and digging signals you can grade yourself on your ability to accurately predict different targets.
HH
Tony
Why is the Excal such a fun machine to hunt with?
Today I was water hunting when a girl approached me on the beach. She had left her diamond engagement ring with her grandmother while she went swimming. When she came out of the water her grandmother told her she had dropped the ring. The girl and her family were distraught.
As I worked a grid I called the targets before I dug them. First a beer can. Sure enough... a beer can. Then a bottlecap....again a bottle cap. Then I heard the mids of aluminum....I said this is probably a poptop. It was. Then I hit a nice grainy signal...and I said to them.."This sounds good...in fact it sounds REALLY good". As I took her ring out of the scoop she placed it on her finger and started crying. Then she hugged me like I was a long lost relative she had not seen for twenty years. Then the grandma, the fiance and her brother all hugged me and thanked me. Of course it is a great feeling to help someone get their ring back.
The fiance was amazed that I was able to call the targets. He asked how much the excal cost. I said to his wife..."he needs to get one of these".
Thus the sound pallette of the excal...The circuit...just makes it a fun and intuitive detector to use.
I learn Excal much faster.