This was gold ring #46 in the last 3 years and 5 months. (from when I got started). I've been running an AT Pro/max for the last 2.5 years.
Yes. This is how gold rings ring up. They're solid signals, unless they're on or near another object. BUT... the VDI numbers can be all over the place. Having a solid signal (loud, clear), is not the same thing as having a solid VDI.
For example, the large 10K class rings I've found are larger on one side, and have a thin band on the other. This results in a massive swing on the VDI numbers, and then add to it, the composition of 10K is actually only 41.6% gold. The remaining is usually a mix of silver, copper, zinc, and other metals, further causing the signal to "bounce." My last 10K large mens class ring, rang up from 46 to 79, or something like that. Even on the SURFACE of the ground. I think it was still in the dirt, because it sounded like trash, even though the signal was solid. I've seen that many times with low carat gold.
I've found solid and stable vdi signals everywhere from 40-41 all the way to 81, with nothing missed in between.
The amount of gold (such as .5 grams) and the shape of the gold will have a LOT to do with how it rings up. A nice solid ring shape produces a beautiful signal. A broken ring (such as where a weld broke, causing the ring to come off), will result in a scratchy sound, because the signal breaks.
Basically, it comes down to the following:
1) The shape of the object. Perfectly round "plain" rings, sound awesome. Rings that are thin on one side and have a lot of "stuff" going on on the other will bounce on the VDI (such as a heavily pronged ring). But only at certain angles.
2) The gold content. Typically, the smaller the amount of gold (Lower carat), the lower the VDI... but not always, especially with rings mixed with silver. That can cause quite a shift.
3) The smaller the object the lower the vdi. This is the case with silver rings, too. I've found large heavy silver rings that actually rang up 99 on the AT Pro. Small tiny size 4.5 rings (like the one I found yesterday) rang up in the low 60s. Size has a lot to do with the VDI. I'm still looking for that big 1 ounce 22 carat ring to see how high that puppy rings up.
4) Your willingness to dig things that you know aren't trash. This is huge. It'll still be mostly trash. But had I skipped yesterday's signal because it was "weird" I would have missed the ring and the penny. Anything..a nd I mean ANYTHING I cannot feel I'm positively identifying as trash, I dig. Your ears and your brain will tell you most of the info. But this requires digging a lot of trash, not for the trash's sake, but because you need to truly learn what trash sounds like, and what is "off" about non-trash items.
As you can see from the total haul, the field wasn't a hotbed of good items. In 2 hours, I pulled just over $2, as I gridded the whole thing. Lots of trash was pulled, and a GOB of trash was skipped. I pulled out anything I couldn't positively identify, and was rewarded 3 times with rings.
Cheers!
Skippy