Powertran

Powertran was founded and managed by Richard Becker

Around 1975, Tim Orr of EMS had an idea for a monophonic performance synth that could be built using inexpensive parts and fairly simple construction techniques; Orr's idea was that performers with low funds could build the synth from a kit. EMS did not want to be associated with it, so Orr formed Powertran to market the kits. The eventual result, emerging in 1978, was the Transcendent 2000, with kits marketed by Powertran. The Transcendent 2000 opened up electronic music to many British performers who could not afford to import a synth from Moog or ARP.

In 1980, Orr designed and introduced the Transcendent Polysynth, a four-voice polyphonic synth designed around integrated circuits from Curtis. Although also marketed as a kit, this was a substantially more complex build than the 2000; subsequently, Transcendent offered factory-built and partially-assembled units. This was not nearly as successful as the 2000, and Powertran ceased doing business by 1984.