Friday Joy Package (Friday Friday Night / 금요일 금요일 밤에)

Oh, yes.

Hello, everyone. Real Factory Experience!

I'm Lee Seung Gi.

This is finally the last factory.

Today is the day I will be crowned king.

When I heard about this factory,

I was more excited than ever.

More than ever.

This time, we informed you what factory it is, right?

Well, this factory is...

Especially as a singer,

I'm really curious about it.

This is probably the birthplace of every type of music.

It's an LP factory.

Now that you've mastered mass production to some degree,

you need to work on handmade production.

Handmade. That's the final stage.

In fact, to make an LP, - Yes.

a master manually carves grooves. You know the ones on an LP record.

Right, grooves.

After carving them one by one,

it goes into mass production based on that.

What LP are you going to produce today...

with such a process?

Personally, it's an honor.

I wanted to have one when I released an album.

Hello. - Hello.

Nice to meet you. - Are you the master for today?

Yes. I'm glad to meet you. - Nice to meet you.

Likewise, sir.

I'm CEO Ha Jong Wook. - Right. Nice to meet you, sir.

This is a place where we etch record grooves on the master disc,

which is the original copy of LPs.

Is he the only person here who can etch discs?

He's the only person in our country.

Although I've made quite a lot of albums,

I didn't know there was an LP factory in Seoul...

or there was only one master.

Do you have an apprentice? - No, not yet.

Not yet? They have an opening. - You can work here.

You have a job opening.

What we do in this studio requires special techniques,

so we're first going to answer some questions you might have.

You don't pass down your skills that easily, do you?

Since we've just met, - It's too soon.

we should get to know each other. - You're right.

Depending on how I do.

LPs used to be quite popular in the old days.

But with the appearance of digital discs called CDs,

LPs became history. - Right.

As the retro boom is back,

people start to rediscover the unique charm of LPs.

Right. They must miss it a lot. - They're recalling their memories.

Most of the work is done within this area.

Once we're handed a master record,

we send the sound into the mixer right here...

and manipulate the sound according to the features of LPs.

Then we send it to this amplifier...

and have it engraved on this side.

While we were preparing for the revival of LPs,

we found there was only one machine left in the country.

So we had to chase the owner around for about a year...

Okay. - and talked him into it.

For this machine, we ended up taking over this whole studio.

That was part of the deal.

I guess that's why LPs are so valuable.

When it comes to The Beatles' first album or "The White Album",

the original LP costs hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Because they're The Beatles. - You have enough potential.

If The Beatles' fans heard that, they would twist my arm.

Is this a master disc?

Yes, it's a master disc without grooves.

Look how sleek it is. - It's very sleek.

Put the disc on first.

We need to remove dust. - Okay.

It has a limited width for grooves to be etched.

So as we carve it, we have to listen to the note...

and space out the record grooves properly.

That way, we can put everything on even for a 20-minute song.

That's why it requires a master.

Now, let's turn on the amplifier. - Okay. Gosh.

I'm so excited.

It has a needle to carve grooves. - Right.

It'll start from here.

It's getting carved. - Yes.

It started making lines. - It's getting carved, line by line.

Gosh, it's fascinating. Can you see that?

The width of the groove on LPs is 50 micrometers.

It's much smaller than a millimeter.

Although it's even thinner than a hair,

it can create a stereo sound.

Now, we'll use your album... - Right.

and start carving the grooves. - I'm so thrilled.

This is the first track, right?

Hearing from the LP feels totally different.

It really goes well with the LP. - You're right.

It brings me a lot of memories.

For some reason, I'm getting emotional.

This song reminds me of the time when I recorded this song.

Is it going to be in this quality?

Yes, what we're carving right now is playing over there.

So is this the sound I'll hear if I play the LP?

Yes, that's right.

This song is really great.

It really makes you reminisce on memories.

After playing the first track,

the line became 2 to 3cm thick.

The first track "You're My Girl" helped me get where I am now.

It deserves to be the first track.

Yes, the first track should be "You're My Girl".

The second track "Cry Out"...

is my personal favorite. It's from my second album.

The song playing right now is great to listen to in this season.

As for "Delete", from what I've experienced,

it's the most popular song out of all my songs.

It's the most played song by men at karaoke.

As for "Return", it's a little embarrassing to say,

but it ranked 1st on the music charts for 5 weeks.

"Return" was a turning point in my singing career.

"Love" is my personal favorite.

"Forest" is in the same album as "Return".

"Please" is a remake of Lee So Ra's song.

I mostly narrowed it down to the mellow songs...

with an analog feel.

It's almost finished.

Side A is full, right? - Yes.

He's checking how delicate it is through the microscope.

Well, although it was carved delicately,

it's still not straight.

The balance between left and right...

varies depending on instruments and so forth.

So when it's actually carved, it's carved differently...

according to those factors.

Gosh, it's really fascinating.

Now, let's compare the digital record with the LP.

When you just hear it, you think it's not so different...

and sounds the same as the one you play on music streaming sites.

However, from what I hear, the voice feels much closer.

And the instruments feel a little distant.

The left-right balance of the voice is also slightly different.

It is. - That's quite charming.

Because in real life, the left-right balance...

isn't symmetrical. - It's not the same, right?

When you listen to a digital song, the left and the right sounds...

are mostly at the same level.

For this one, it's very subtle,

but each sound stands out in turns.