GZ codes: proceed with caution

When I read the dead wax and see GZ codes or an MRP stamp, I proceed with caution. Caution, not avoidance. There is a difference, and it matters for your money.

GZ Media in the Czech Republic is the world's largest vinyl pressing operation, pressing since 1951. It also owns majority stakes in Memphis Record Pressing in the US, Precision in Canada and SNA in France. So when a record says pressed in the USA or pressed in the EU, there is a significant chance it went through a GZ-affiliated plant.

Don't misunderstand me, this is not a blacklist. Those codes do not mean the record will be bad; they mean the quality will vary widely. My own test showed me why: three of my four albums came from one plant generally considered upper tier, and the same album could be clean on one side and defective on the others.

Same factory, different stampers, different result. The variable is the stamper, not just the name on the building, and the stamper is the one thing no sticker on the sleeve will tell you. So the code tells me where to look harder: Discogs and the Steve Hoffman forums, on that specific pressing, before the money leaves my account.

A plant name is a warning, not a verdict. The verdict is pressed into each stamper.