crazy retro ableton controller???
What would it take to get a unit like this (built in the mid-1980s) to talk to Ableton Live?
Wow that thing is awesomez!
What does the plug look like?
No idea – looks like some kind of serial-type cables, definitely pre-USB, hehe! Here are more pics, the thing is practically being given away on ebay so if someone here thinks they can do something cool with it, snatch it up! I would but I’m afraid it will just take up space here as I would barely know where to start with this thing. But it is definitely digital in some way so it might be pretty easy to get working if you could figure out how to get the signals converted to midi or hid…
oh whoops here are the pics (and the listing on ebay): http://cgi.ebay.com/Graham-Patten-D-Esam-800-Digital-Audio-Mixer-System-/280552910791?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item415241afc7
I think it is only really of any use with alot of other equipment sample units, studio video equipment etc. you could rip out its insides and connect all the buttons and faders to usb brains that would work haha (very hard work though)
remeber when sound cards had joystick ports and the doubled as midi? Maybe this has one of those ports in it as a few d shaped ones behind. You can get a joystick midi lead still 
This
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It is a video mixer… I may send button pressing (they seem on/off switches) throught serial interface… maybe attaching and arduino and with (some) patience it will work… but it’s not better buy a second hand APC40? (here at DJTT you can find one guy selling one at low price…)
…
I think it’s not about what’s better, but what’s cooler.
I would take it for the case alone.
Anything that sends a message “Waiting for rack…” is the tits to me
haha 
I would look into midibox.org