I agree with Michael. Check out some videos. My feeling is no. It's not too much for a beginner. Of course that depends on if you're the kind of person who likes to read owner's manuals or not. My feeling is that if you're willing to study the manual, anything you find confusing is easily asked here on the forum and will have you finding great stuff in a very short time. All evidence points to the MXT being a great detector. HH