AnalogPlanet Tours GZ Media-World's Largest Vinyl Record Manufacturer
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- Опубліковано 3 жов 2019
- GZ Media, located in the Lodenice, Czech Republic ("GZ" stands for Gramofonové Závody [Gramophone Record Factory]), founded in 1951, is the world's largest vinyl manufacturer. In 2015 GZ produced 65,000 records a day!
You have to see the place to believe it, so here's a factory tour! It's long, because there's so much to see, including the enormous pressing plant, the copper disc (DMM) production facility, the printing and box producing division and GZ's own vinyl pellet manufacturing facility located on-site.
GZ Media is owned by Zdenek Pelc. Mr. Pelc joined the company in the 1980s when vinyl was "dying". Rather than scrap the record presses, Mr. Pelc trusted his "gut" and chose to keep them and continue pressing records.
He doesn't only trust his "gut": in 2000 at age 49 he enrolled in the Harvard Business School (he's now semi-retired). In 2015 Forbes Europe named him "Entrepreneur of the Year". Today he's semi-retired. Pelc famously said in the Forbes interview that he decided to continue pressing records until, if that's how it turned out, GZ was the last pressing plant in the world.
GZ Media's current CEO is globe-trotting Michal Sterba, who is interviewed in the video.
Don't miss near the end of the tour, the bonus "deconstruction" of the "RL" version of Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" (transferred from vinyl to a 96/24 file), which demonstrates GZ's sophisticated software package used to "pre-master" digital files to produce high quality vinyl editions. Among the system's capabilities is creating a "stylus-eye" view of coursing through the grooves of the vinyl record that the file would produce.
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Finally over two hours long of educative content instead of some random 3 minutes superficial video.
This is the quality content we need more of at UA-cam.
Good job Michael! 👍
What a fantastic documentary! Not a polished commercial, but a somewhat rough, very informative tour of the CZ vinyl factory.
There is quite a bit involved before the vinyl is finally on the record player. And then the audio grocers also have the nerve to complain that a vinyl album costs about $30…
Vinyl making is pure manual labor. An old craft that fortunately has been resurrected from its near grave.
Thank you Mikey!
Thank you for our Czech Friends for keeping us in vinyl, Great Video.!
A very rare look into an industry that I have always admired. As an engineer I love the attitude of the company to continuously improve. It is startling to know that they only implemented the fantastic quality control two years prior to the video being shot.
Very nice people at GZ. Thank you, and GZ for letting me see into an industry, and learn lessons from it from my own day job.
OMG Michael!! How did I miss this?! This was absolutely riveting! I could not turn it off. One of the best videos on You Tube IMHO. I was watching every second to take everything in. The machinery, the process, the details, the quality control, the massiveness of the operation, so much to take in. The 2 plus hours FLEW by! Thanks for sharing this with us. Cheers! Your fan, Matt Street
Hello. I'm from the Czech Republic and the fan of analog (vinyl and reel to reel) but I missed this great video too. Till now! The great reportage and great work! 👍
Wow 97,000 Pressings a day, and they said Vinyl was dead not so long ago. Very educational and eye opening. Thanks Michel 😎
Oh my God! This is an incredible video! Unique place! When I saw this huge business, I was overwhelmed with a sense of respect for these people. Many complex processes are collected in this place. It seemed to me that printing, the creation of envelopes and booklets is a very complex process, not inferior in its value to printing the vinyl record itself. Record production, sleeves and all necessary materials - all in one place, it's incredible! Probably in my collection there are records produced at this factory, and I want to thank all these people for their great work. Of course, vinyl will never be the "leading format" again. Thank God for the fact that there are people who have kept this production. Thanks to every person who gives us ANALOG RECORDINGS!
Plastics is my business and the plant you visited actually had some of our colorant(Clariant). A great tour of a processing plant and you asked many of the right questions!
My band just ordered vinyl for the first time, and wouldn't you know it... our metalworks and test presses were made at GZ! Really cool to see this video and get a look at the place that made the magic happen for us. Thank you for this.
Very interesting, and very impressive, fair play to the company and the employees...
I had no idea this is what it took to manufacture a vinyl record. Much appreciated this video and a glimpse inside the production.
Well that's an eye opener, so pleased they allowed you to video the factory and all they do. The Led Zeppelin part where they showed the cutting head and how it moved made me think of just how difficult it must be for the arm and cartridge to follow that cut. Thank you.
I had no idea of that copy of Mingus Mingus Mingus etc made in Czech Republic that I bought here in Las Vegas had that history in its production ! Thanks Michael for the fascinating tour of the pressing plant .
Wow...vinyl certainly does live and live large. This is an amazing record pressing plant A to Z. In the Czech republic no less. No wonder Project is the world's largest producer of turntables. Theres something seriously happening in this area of the world as related to the resurgence of the LP. Good one Mikey!
Thanks for taking me inside the GZ Media vinyl factory. Great video, Michael.
I work in GZ media Shipyard I am glad that this video thank you for your support
EMIL
I can imagine that Michael, you must be very happy when you see all this. You preached for so many years that vinyl is the superior medium and -still alive and well - you see all over the world that you where right and people getting it. Keep up your good work, this is all very inspiring. Thank you!
CD
Incredible tour! It’s crazy to see all of this manual work and handling in the process in a common dusty factory environment, and then straight to someone’s $4500 table ...
Michael this was the BEST video ever. It's great to see passion alive and well in today's rushed world
This is another very informative and interesting video that covers the entire production of LP and jackets in house under one roof. I'm amazed how much better printing quality of album jackets has improved over the years. I worked in the printing industry decades ago and the facility had a Heidelberg press which was of excellent quality. The pressman was off one day on the holidays and I did a 4 part NCR form on a 2 colour Heidelberg press, while enjoying the holiday Spirits as it were. GZ is state of the art of course and a nice plant tour Michael. It was very cool that you pressed your own copy of Elton's Tumbleweed Connection, still in my top 10 fav albums of all time. I think Bernie mastered and cut that one if not mistaken.
This was truly fascinating! But then, every one of Michael's vlogs is. The amount of work that goes in to what ultimately ends up becoming a record on our shelves, is mind boggling. Dhanyawaad! :)
What a superb video reportage this is! This explains how GZ, in my opinion, took great steps in further development and improvement of their product. Great respect!
10 000 usd TT owners must be crazy seeing this stuff.
I m sure noise in the factory must add air and depth in the record. The analogue touch !
Very good video by the way. Impressive work.
Well this is the third one of these type clips to show up on my tread
This by far was the most in depth.
Love it absolutely awesome
Very interesting. I did not understand all of it, but I understood the depth of the work more so now then before!
I’ve never seen anything like that plug-in he had that showed the simulated grooves that would be cut, you could see the spacing of the grooves increase with the volume. It’s much easier to learn with visual cues like that, this guy is clearly a master of his craft. Beautiful to see
Would've been nice to have some subtitles...fantastic video all the same. Great to finally "meet" the guys responsible for some of the greatest remasters in my collection :)
This is an amazing tour! Thank you, Michael for sharing. Very educational :)
Another enlightening video, thank you @analogplanet. It can be too easy to fall into a jingoistic view of what countries can produce “quality” vinyl. If they can make reasonable quality product available to more people that is a good thing for the vinyl community
Been surrounded by music for 50 years!!!
NEVER new of the work and of late, the state of the art technology involved in pre- pressing.
Fabulous company!!
My only one complaint is : WHERE THE HECK IS THE EAR PROTECTION FOR THOSE POOR WORKERS???
I’ve spent a lot of time in factories…… and after joining a unionized safety committee, life got better for us. I’m sure these guys aren’t slave drivers, but……. they need OSHA regulations for better quality living……..
Thanks Michael, you are a thorough reporter and a super funny comedian…….
Total pleasure to see this!!!! AWESOME!!!!!!
I'm pretty sure that these workers are underpayed.
@@rabarebra
Yep!!
Looking at the average monthly income of a factory worker in the Czech Republic in 2022 is 17,400 korunas = $753
With the average monthly cost of living for a single person at 34,401 korunas = $1463
Yeah….. I’d say….. you’re gonna need a roommate …. or 3 !
Unless of course you are a shipping manager = 84,000 korunas or $3556 a month
I’m sure the engineers are making out ok. They’ve been around since 1951 and have several facilities around the world.
But, overall, living in the Czech Republic is more expensive than in
67% of countries in Eastern Europe.
Ahhhhh……. think I’ll stay put here in this quiet old suburb of Chicago, Illinois USA … lol
Stay creative/positive and be good to all Rock&Roll😎✌🏾
@@RAIN-AGAIN Jesus... $753? This is what a standard non-educated hard worker gets in Norway in a week, at the lowest.
Some had plugs in their ears, but not all.
By the way, compare prices in Norway and the Czech Republic. Norway is a very expensive country. 😉 Although $753 isn't exactly a luxury life.
@@pavelrebicek7828
GOOD POINT PAVEL !
I’m semi retired now soooo
I don’t have to do the “factory grind shuffle” dance anymore….. lol
My home is paid off ……. So that’s another blessing as well.
If I’m not in my home studio composing some jazz for my debut album, …..
or Uber driving 4 to 6 hours a day…………
Then I’m working on 1 of 37 ideas!!
I would tell any young person alive today…… that “ INNOVATION “ is the best way out of poverty !
God is not favoring Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos….. but… if you can come up with something that can better mankind be it electric cars or mass
e marketing strategies….. cool!!!
Of course….. you and I can’t afford to take charge $1200 per pound to take satellites into space for various companies or governments ……..
Space X launched 66 rockets in 2023… 5 more than in 2022….. at an average price tag of
$67 million each!…..
Still wonder why he’s the richest guy in the world?
Just saying……. the average guy spends a lot of his time making widgets at a factory for a company, and most of his “free time”
at some pub or video games…….
I stop drinking or smoking anything 10 years ago…. now I’m focusing my time developing a product that will COMPLETELY STOP CARJACKING….
It’s not a quick process.
Lots of research…… haven’t even started R & D on a viable prototype yet….
But….. I think by the end of 2024…… I’ll be in a position to hire a patent attorney………
……. Bottom line…..
STOP WORKING
FOR PEOPLE ❗️❗️
Whatever the sacrifice, pay it!………..
invest in our BRAINS….. our great ideas,……
and …. leave the fork lift driving jobs…. to
JOE SIXPACK… for goodness sake’s…… lol
I’m not so much interested in being a gazillionaire ….. but……
I do want to be able to…CALL THE SHOTS IN MY DAM LIFE…… lol
Been working for myself for 6 years now….. love it!!!
But….. I’m not there yet!
I badly NEED a prototype!
…… have to be patient….
And…….. stay FOCUSED!!
well…. Stay safe
Merry Christmas Pavel🎄
🎼RAIN RAIN 🎼
Michael, i am pleased to see that this company is putting sooooo much effort onto their QC. This will help for certain to improve sound quality of our beloved music. Taking music experience to a higher level. I hope that other pressing plants will follow this initiative.
Many thanks to you Michael for sharing this incredably interesting video and many thanks to the companies openess and giving you the opertunity to make this possible.
These folks have really got there act together !! Thanks for the EE tour !
Music is the passion of life. From composing performing registering to producing editing pressing selling making videos and listening. every step is an other adventure. How difficult is the job if you do it with love and how easy when you to it like those man and women working in this huge facility . They have some kind of proud and joy. They make the human stupid and nonsense short life funny and enjoyable . Thanks Micheal to bringing this adventure to us.
The best video on YT right now. Absolutely amazing, fascinating and exciting, too.
Wow, fascinating! Especially the quality control. That took my whole Thursday evening. :-)
Thanks for sharing this, the effort and time you put in is exceptional and I appreciate being able to view the result! Very interesting stuff :)
You are right! Excellent tour. Learned so much.
Nice shot of them pressing The Psychedelic Porn Crumpets LP in swirly colored vinyl! (great band btw)
Venom shape disc? Bloody amazing tour! GZ Quality has improved a lot!
Wow that was amazing , going to watch it again . cheers
Love this, thanks Michael.
Where is the room where they toss the records on the floor and scratch them before jamming the vinyl into a rough paper sleeve? GZ quality is by far the most inconsistent of the big plants, sometimes it is perfect, other times it's terrible, seemly random luck of the draw.
SLX or TSX?
Every pressing plant has some bad records. Even the best. The worst press consistently mediocre records. GZ QC is very good considering how many they press!
My experience is similar to derosa’s - Of all the vinyl I buy, GZ is by far the worst of the EU plants. Consistently leave detritus on the records and use sleeves that seem to damage the discs. Only their polylined sleeves seem to save them, hence why the test pressings are always great.
Agreed, looks like massive production.
I have a lot of GZ stuff and I think at least 80% is quiet and HQ. A band I played in had a 7" pressed and it was flawless, so all and all I think they are doing pretty good.
Thank you for this video. It was true lecture in mastering and pressing.
I love it when you tour record pressing plants. Makes me feel that my collection is not in vain. This time I got a bonus: [1:25:15] Got turned on the the group Psychedelic Porn Crumpets. Excellent video Michael. We will never get tired of them so keep that in mind. Yeah, I admit....we always want more.
Wonderful work, i learnt a lot about the process!
Cool another nice video Michael. This is real cool I enjoyed this, I saw a video on a place in Brooklyn called Brooklyn vinyl or something like that. yours is just as good.. I bought your dvd & I enjoyed that too maybe one day I'll run into you at a record convention or something. I've seen many videos on how records are made the one thing I can never figure out is how the actual music goes from the metal disc onto the vinyl itself and out through you speak is that always amazes me
WOW! Thank you Mr. Fremer! An entertaining look into the processes behind vinyl production.
This was incredible.
Just fabulous thanks man!
One of the most interesting video that i never saw on UA-cam!
Honest people. Great Job Michael! Five up!
Fascinating video but just one suggestion... slow down your panning from place to place and person to person. It makes it look like the cameraperson who filmed it was slightly inebriated. But thanks for the great tour. 97,000 units in ONE DAY! GZ's a real "one-stop shop"!
Yes, it needs image stabilization, slower panning and perhaps a wider angle lens. It's like watching the Blair Witch Project. Good video, but a little tough to watch.
Biff Narzilla I wish I had a camera crew and more sophisticated gear but it’s just me and a camcorder....
@@AnalogPlanet Hey , it was a
good job ....don't listen to those guys.
New to channel, awesome vlog . Big fan of vinyl records.
This has to be the coolest video I have ever seen !!!!!
Wow, would be an understatement. What a great opportunity for you Michael. Vinyl Disneyland.
We have had a major issue with the modern pressing industry and warped records. It is across many labels but not often with the audiophile varieties such as MoFi and QRP. My theory has alway been that they are being removed from the press too quickly. This video makes me feel this is exactly the case. Watch when Michael removes his last album around the 1:27 mark. The record is flexed and bent quite a bit. I wonder if 'back in the day' if the record was allowed to rest longer and harden/cool more before being disturbed.
Correct. Several of my GZ records has been dished. I'm actually disgusted by seeing this.
The year is 2022, month is November, and they still haven't improved.
Beatles Revolver vinyl's warped like cornflakes, especially the mono one in the boxset. What are they thinking? I just can't get it.
Just to clarify.. After Michael presses those couple records, the Czech guy asks the lady working there to put them aside/discard them. He said it in Czech. Just so you know.. :-)
Incredible video tour, thank you Michael!
Great video thanks for sharing.
Excellent & highly educative video Michael, thank you so much for taking the trouble to shoot it pretty much seamlessly with the audio being great for the most part of it. How many batteries did you need to change in the camera(which camera is it?) to film all of it? It took me the better part of 4 days to watch it!!! GZ certainly is taking the right steps in order to deliver on all fronts and it was particularly interesting in knowing how they are keeping up with the new technology available to streamline as much of the processes as possible and maintaining every aspect in house.
On another note, it was also interesting to hear Mr. Lebr's views on what he does for a living & that he particularly didn't seem to be a vinyl enthusiast per se! I saw that his station had Genelec studio monitors for listening to the files he receives for preparing the cutting discs. Won't they also change his perception of what he is listening to & seeing in numbers on the software shown on the screen? Isn't that also a 'variable'? Thanks once again :)
Agree. From this video is clear that Mr. Lebr trusts tools and analyzers more then his ears. For Doxy, Dol and "hoaxy Waxy" is that ok.
33:30 I predict by the end of the decade there'll be systems that will be able to scan the record in the production line and perform all of those software checks and play/listen throughs and comparisons in a matter of seconds.
Dude You're KING ANALOG...I say this because what u do is pure ELEVATED of the term itself.Peace
Great video
Extremely impressive software!
Absolutely amazing nobody does it like this company !Just imaging how a disc would sound with an analogue master tape
Impressionante. Fantástico. Inacreditável!
We can t complain at the price of vinyl records when so much goes into making them-very interesting to see the process
I’m now assured vinyl is here to stay.......at least until the apocalypse!
Firstly, I have to thank you so very much, Michael for taking the time to do what I feel to be one of the greatest Analog Planet vids to date. I doubt vinyl would have come back with such fury without your efforts being part of the mix. (Please do not excuse the pun)
A vinyl empire was started by Mr. Pelc by sticking to his guns, and I bet it probably never crossed his mind to scrap the presses. I was overly impressed by GZ’s QC, which went well above and beyond anything I would’ve ever expected. I recently picked up a 3xLP set by The Black Crowes that was pressed at GZ, and the records sound absolutely phenomenal and are flat as a pancake. The packaging is top notch as well.
It was hysterical that there were even more “green machines” adorned with the perfect patina! I believe this to be the 3rd factory tour with which you’ve seen and mentioned them, and now I’m noticing them every time! Haha
The deconstruction of the RL Led Zeppelin was both fascinating and frustrating, in that it was great to actually see the detail and effort that I’m sure Bob put into getting the best sound when mastering that record, but we all know what unfortunately happened when it hit the shelves.
Thanks again, Michael! It’s time to turn the furniture on and spinning. 🎶🔊🙂
BEST VIDEO EVER GREAT WORK!
Fábrica incrível! Maravilha! Parabéns!
They use more ink than I do 😂 lol
Fascinating stuff!
thanks alot loved this
Thanks for doing this. I have a much greater appreciation for all the various components that go into good record making. Impressive how detailed and clean GZ is. They should be very proud of their work and the happiness it brings so many people.
That test pressing QC is world class wow
That orange copy from the Stones was probably pressed at the Baarn Polygram factory, Michael. That explains the superb quality no doubt. Decca was pressed at the Polygram pressing plant in Holland.
Where's the room where they put all the pops and crackles into the vinyl?
Are GZ pressings that bad?
@Scott Frobel I think it's the vinyl they use. Soft material that's easy to scratch. I've got a few GZ pressings, they came to me fine. One from factory has a light scratch at the very end of the record by the locked groove so it doesn't affect playing.
Edit: For example, I've got records from the 60s, the material they used then was very tough, it wasn't flexible and didn't scratch easy, that changed by the 70s, the fall in quality seemed to happen with most manufacturers.
@@Mogamishu Yes, horrible.
It’s the room you are playing records in.
Mind Blowing great insight 💙👍
God Bless these people!
WoW super video Sir
MB quart or German Maestro headphones are very revealing. It indicates that they are really serious about the quality. I respect them.
2:10:24: We can see that GZ presses not more than 80µm groove width which is important to maintain tracking abilities for the cartridge/arm ensemble. In this case they do not even reach 50µm with this loud song which is easy to track for decent turntables without distortion. Even some high spec cartridge/arm ensembles often got problems over 60µm and start to distort audible.
MPO in France and Optimal Media Productions in Germany are the 2 best in Europa right now.
Specially MPO.
Where you found this information?
@@Danekairexpert on the vinyl
Wrong on both accounts... Pallas Germany and Record Industry of Holland are better than Optimal and MPO though they are all better than GZ media 😒
@@tomwebb7091 maybe better than optimal but not better than MPO !
@@lucalone I beg to differ. MPO had been less consistent than both Pallas and RI in terms of what ive collected. I suppose my love for Pallas is partly down to who they press for (Speakers Corner/Org/Pure Pleasure etc). MPO dont press much in the way of analogue and most of its stuff is digital files on vinyl
8:42, Wow, I thought they only cut albums on DMM ! Learn something new everyday!
saludos felicidades por su trabajo atte jovanny
Interesting to see in the LP test room that all the turntables used dust covers so that any pops picked up but the computers are not attributed to "new" dust rather just what may be on the stamper. Gets me thinking, as usual, that we should always use dust covers while playing records and it will undoubtedly reduce the amount of record cleaning and give better playability. There I've said it again. Anyway great video Mikey very interesting, thank you.
Great content as always, thanks.
Amazing so many employees aren’t using protective headphones! But 97k records in one day is a lot to produce!
Fascinating....thanks to you and all the contributors at the plant. 👍👍👍
GZ Media's operation centre and the process of its product must surely require a lot of electric energy. How are you going to survive the 'greenie' push to renewable energy? Could you survive on batteries? This is an incredibly informative documentary. Thank you
they pay for the electricity
Did 2 pressing runs at GZ, would not hesitate to use them again! They were capable of pressing the records as I wanted, the physical quality of their pressings puts some of the so-called “world-class” or audiophile-grade pressing plants to shame. I won’t name names, but you know who they are! Now, getting the lacquers from Sterling plated here in the US and then shipped to the Czech Republic was an extra bit of logistic gymnastics, but didn’t complicate the overall process toooo much and the results were definitely worth it. As nice as their cutting room looks, I don’t think I’ve heard anything cut in-house that I’ve actually liked, and I’ve heard a LOT of GZ pressed vinyl… no offense to any involved, seems like they put a lot of effort into their masters. At least I love how they all sound in between tracks…
Analog planet, you should persuade GZ Media to finally put the records into the plastic antistatic bags. Most of the records they put into the paper sleeves, which make a lot of damage to brand new records !
Wow, vinyl is making a comeback in a big way. Another sweet Analog Planet Production. P.s. I think that there is an idea that record production is a rather low tech endeavor. This video should go quite a way in enlightening the unwashed masses. Thanks again Mr. Fremer.
Michael ‘ This is outstanding!,, Kudos.
Hysterical watching Michael taking part in the label application process. Two thoughts. 1: His dual label applications will be collectors items. 2: He should never use a wood chipper.
Vinyl has been coming back hard since around the mid 2000's, for sure.
John, This company is certainly doing well.
Michael being Michael in a very high tech situation 😳😎
6:25 it does look like a Hollywood set !
More specifically where they shot the Pink Floyd - Wish you were here cover with the man on fire 👍🏻
I was going to caption it “wish you were here”.
@@AnalogPlanet Michael. :: That
guy in the Pink Floyd cover is Actually
on fire . That was his stunt job to get
lit up. Amazing world.!
....you probably knew that ...
Exelente produccion
Thanx Michael, for making our collections bigger every day lol, after your videos I just wanna go empty my wallet on new vinyl
Nice video, and a fine example to show that office people who want to show off in the production, that they rather should let the expert operate the pressing and keep stupid fingers away from the machinery.
Magnificent. I feel like a little boy watching this. LOL!
Feliz em saber que o disco do black alien foi prensado aí
Always amazing how fluent the foreign company exec’s are in the English language. Must be hard with technical details.
Yes , to their credit it's always astonishing to most Americans who can barely speak English;-) not to belittle them, but I do believe they are rigorously taught English growing up so Its kind of like 2nd nature to them, if I'm not mistaken. But as an American who really only understands English, I'm a bit embarrassed by my lack of understanding in language studies.
@@Tunz909 Have no idea what you are complaining about?? I'm complimenting them!!! I'm TUNZ909 but have to now post on my real name.
this was soo amazing !!! thanks alot