Brand Loyalty 'I Don't Get It'

Tribalism seems to be ingrained in human DNA and there's examples of it in every walk of life going way way back to prehistoric times, being an individual can be somewhat daunting when "groupthink" is the intended goal. Some of us are born individuals with our own thoughts and feelings, others are simply confused repeaters that will do just about anything to fit in. That includes making the individuals among us feel awkward about their independent thinking and choices. 

I've met so many people in the past that are quite obviously fragments of those they idolise or look up to, and their opinions are sound bites of what they hear on the news or what they've consumed in the media. To me society is simply white noise, you're aware that it's there but you can't quite bring yourself to decipher exactly what you're hearing. It's this same white noise that has edged its way into our pass times and hobbies, it has been amplified by social media and the internet.

The exact same thing that happened to carp fishing here in the UK has happened to metal detecting, the lines of division are drawn by the brands we choose to use.  It's akin to musical snobbery, when I worked with producers that recorded 'prog rock' bands they almost looked down upon you for playing straight rock music. The same went for jazz fans and musicians, if it wasn't jazz music then to these people it wasn't worth taking it seriously. In carp fishing it was bait & tackle wars, people arguing about shelf life bait and freezer bait, which is best and healthier, some of the arguments I've seen on this subject made me realise vast swathes of people are simply children in adult bodies. 

In metal detecting it's brand & machine wars, and in recent years, technology wars, it's from these points that the mudslinging starts, multi-frequency and single frequency arguments rage over the internet as if peoples lives depended on it, does it really matter if all you're digging is shitty zinc pennies and some pull tabs? Does it really matter if there's people out there who are nostalgic and love to use their old Tesoro or Whites detectors? Since when does someone get off telling others what they should be using. There's a few slightly inbred personalities on Youtube that appear to enjoy the conflict and regularly add fuel to the fire in this regard.

Now let us put this into perspective, we're all just digging shit out the ground and if we're lucky we might find something good. We're glorified scavengers digging up vague fragments of someone else's life, hoping that some unfortunate soul lost their favourite gold ring so we can dig it up and parade it on social media for all the world to see. And then the flip side is we're knocking on strangers doors asking if we can dig holes in their privately owned land and remove anything of value for our own enjoyment. But .. hey .. multi-frequency is better than single frequency .. right? .. and digital is better than analog .. right? and "I can't believe that Paul Warren clown swings dated single frequency analog machines".. right?

We're living in such a strange theatre, we're conditioned to worship false idols, these usually come in the shape of pop stars and film stars but another off shoot of this is incessant brand loyalty, the kind of loyalty that blinds peoples perspective and rational thought. I see the same kind of thing with music fans, if a band that they've loved for years comes out with a crap album, a certain demographic of the fanbase will fight verbal tooth and nail to defend it. Usually turning on other fans that have enough of their own mind to have an independent opinion. I've seen this kind of psychology so many times and it rears it's head a lot in metal detecting. 

Am I loyal To One Brand? no I'm not it just turns out that I gel with one brand more than the others and it's common sense that if that brand continues to produce quality units then I'm going to find myself purchasing them. But in the same sentiment if 'said brand' started producing products that were below par, I'd start looking elsewhere when considering buying a new machine. 

For me personally, I go with what interests me no matter the brand or the reputation, and just because you favour one brand over the other it doesn't make the others crap.  I've said it many times, there isn't really a bad machine out there, you'll find stuff in the ground with all of them, including the really cheap ones on Amazon and Ebay, it all depends what your preference is,

Many will know that I favour analog, does that mean I think digital machines are crap? no way, I have an Equinox 800 and I love it and use it on the River Thames nearly everyday. But digital machines don't have enough variation for me and I feel they've hit a wall in the performance they offer. To me all my analog machines are different from each other and they all have their own unique elements. 

My Nexus machines offer different things compared to my Vista X and Golden Mask and each has its own quirks that create enough variation between all the machines that inspire me to use them. They all have a raw performance as opposed to an average performance with a shitload of gimmicks. You aren't simply moving digits up and down, you can genuinely fine tune the machines into the ground. I'm happy with the detectors I have but even now I've got my eyes open looking for obscure analog machines built by small companies that could be interesting to use - the brand simply doesn't come into it. 

To Sum Up, I love metal detectors, be it cheap, expensive, digital or analog, machines intrigue me as much today as when I first started detecting around 35 years ago. If you're someone that genuinely looks upon metal detecting as an art then in makes sense to keep your mind as open as possible and explore all the options you have in regards to the machine you choose to use. Approaching it this way will expand your knowledge of both metal detectors and their operation. On the flip-side, if you're someone who's totally brand loyal and enjoys arguing and ruffling feathers to create this ridiculous competitive stupidity within the metal detecting community then maybe you should grow the f**k up and start trying to act your age.