Hacklab.to's laser-cutter really *does* play the Mario Bros theme!

I owe the Hacklab.to people an apology. Last spring I ran this post about how they'd tuned the motor on their laser cutter to play the Super Mario Theme as it repositioned itself, and I mentioned that it was too perfect, and wondered "if it's not just some video of a laser cutter with a flanged-out version of the theme cut into the soundtrack."

Yesterday, I dropped in at the Hacklab in Kensington Market (it's an amazing place), and saw the laser cutter do its thing. And you know what? It plays an absolutely perfect Super Mario Theme. Seriously.

Laser etcher plays Super Mario. It's real! Hacklab.to, Kensington Market, Toronto, ON, Canada.avi

• [Nonzealot]

  Yes, the melody is slightly different than in the games in a few places. Also there is only two notes at any given time. That made it pretty obvious this was not a cheap hoax.. :)

  [ BTW what does the laser cutter normally cut when it's not being used to make sounds covered in awesome sauce ? ]

  • [Darren Garrison]

    I don’t know what that particular laser is used for, but many of them are used not to actually “cut” through anything, but to etch/burn the surface. You can “print” text, designs, and photos into metal, glass, stone, whatever. Years back someone started selling (and advertising in computer magazines) a desktop unit for $4000, and I’ve wanted one ever since then, right beside my 3D printer that I also don’t have. Google “versalaser.”

• [mikesum32]

  You haven’t lived until you’ve heard Ode to Joy on an HP flatbed scanner.

  • [Anonymous]

    Ode to Joy – HP flatbed scanner: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KImkZvLOCfA

• [Anonymous]

  Hey Cory,

  AmberMac and I did a story on HackLab for Webnation.tv a few weeks ago. Totally amazing place!
  http://watch.discoverychannel.ca/clip230835#clip230835

  All the best,

  -cd

• [Guysmiley]

  Fun with CNC stepper motors:

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKCX1CeXIjA

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sS8-vVE7iGI

• [Jaan]

  Awesome sauce? I must be getting old if I just can’t understand the slang you young cats think is hip.

• [PaulR]

  Those of us who deal with equipment that uses stepper motors knew all along that there was no trickery.

  (I still think that the CNC playing “Still Alive” – Cuysmiley’s link #1 – is more awesomer.)

  The live version’s pretty good too:
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAgutrkFjBQ

• [hbl]

  I bet humble pie only tastes good when it’s covered in awesome sauce.

• [PaulR]

  Whoops! Sorry Guysmiley…

• [aramoe]

  Holy Awesome Sauce….sigh….

• [dragonfli]

  Who recorded this and why couldn’t they shut up while the laser cutter was doing its’ job?

• [Anonymous]

  Ok, this is really cool. Kudos to everyone at Hacklab.to who made this happen.

  -aestetix

• [tkdead]

  The video’s narrator seems to have mistaken the parlance of the interbutts as acceptable in the real, tangible world. I hate to jump on the bandwagon with the last couple of commenters who pointed this out more succinctly than I am right now, but it’s really depressing and distracting.

  • [Darren Garrison]

    Oh yes, I agree 100%. The one thing that stood out to me is that, somewhere in the real world, someone decided that they wanted to say “holy awesome, that is made of fucking awesome sauce.” Musical laser cutters pale in significance to that.

• [Anonymous]

  The laser is used for a variety of things when it’s not being used to make awesome sauce covered music. Hack lab is a geek collective, so individual members can use the laser for any project that moves them. It’s used to both etch and cut. The group acquired it off of craigslist in a non-functional condition and rebuilt all the control boards, etc.

• [thammuz]

  Where can I obtain awesome sauce?

• [teapot]

  Man if anyone is able to flang that virbation-feedback noise I am impressed.

• [Gelfin]

  Still not real. This video only proves that Cory’s been bought off by Big 8-bit Musical Laser Cutter.

• [Anonymous]

  The hilarious part is they got the second measure (and every time it repeats) wrong. The little chromatic bit.

• [Anonymous]

  haha. The commentator was Doctorow you fools. This laser session was purely meant as a counter argument to his “too good to be true” argument, not a live performance for an audience. Be glad you got to hear his genuine response :)

  LetoAms

• [kopakauk]

  My house phone plays the Mario 1up chime when I charge it hah.