Rare Vintage ASE Modular Synthesizer

In the history of the site there has only been one other ASE post. That post from August of 2006 was on Automat and the ASE MCS70. The ASE MCS70 was a knob laden keyboard synthesizer. In the post you will find a link to Synthmuseum.com with some additional info.

This Monday, Patrick Hopewell posted the image to the left on The MATRIXSYNTH Lounge with the following: "Can you identify this machine? I believe this to be a kit from the early 70's." At first I didn't recognize it and I read "ASI" instead of "ASE" on the top right, so a search came up empty. After mentioning this to Patrick he said it looks like ASI in the pic, but is actually "ASE" and he received an offer to pick up the system. It was in a garage for 30 years before now. Patrick currently has it in possession. He put up some pics here including some of the inside. The following is what he had to say.

"I finally took the back off and documented every circuit. There are some issues with the synth but nothing that can't be resolved. I have been chatting with Norman Leete and he says that everything looks good but I still should go through and test every circuit before I try to power it up again. I have sent the guy I bought it from an email to see if he has the contact info for the guy who built this thing in the 70's. I will keep you posted as I find out anymore information. Feel free to post anything you find interesting. I would like to see if any of your readers recognize any of the circuits. I did find out from Norman that the pots are the same ones used in Moog modulars."

If anyone has any insight feel free to leave a comment here, on Facebook, or email me directly and I'll forward it along.

Update: some additional info from Florian Anwander on ASE (note per Update2 below this modular is not from the same ASE):

"As far as I remember ASE was a kind of 'one man show' company by Mario Maggi, later engineer for various Italy based musical instruments companies like Elka (the man behind the Synthex).

There is an interview with M. Maggi on http://www.synthesizer.at (german) [Googlish here], which says 'The world heared already around 1970 from Mario Maggi, when he built his first monophonic synthesizer. It was in the style of an ARP Odyssey and Minimoog [translaters remark: in opposite to modular synths]. This synth still works today. Musicians like Enrico Olivieri, Roberto Turbitosi, Mario Natali and others used it.'

I have seen in the early 80s an ASE in a studio in the outskirts of Frankfurt which looked similar (same black glossy panels, same kind of various knobs), but to my memory it was smaller than one of Patrick Hopewell."

Update2 (6/12/2014): I have confirmation this is not from Mario Maggi.  The designer remains unknown. If anyone has any insight to the maker of this system, feel free to contact me or leave a comment.