Powertran Transcendent 2000 Synthesiser Demo

via this auction
"It is an unusual single-oscillator fully analogue monosynth produced in kit form by Powertran, UK in the late 1970s. It was used by legendary producer Martin "Zero" Hannett on Joy Division's "Unknown Pleasures" album - mostobviously on the track "Insight" where it can be heard wibbling away over Peter Hook's bassline.

As befitting a synthesiser designed by Tim Orr, the man behind the extraordinary EMS Synthi, the Transcendent 2000 has a couple of little surprises up its sleeve, namely:
1. The ADSR envelope generator can be set to repeat mode, turning the envelopes into a second (low-range) LFO
2. The ADSR envelope generator can be bypassed, allowing the oscillator to sound indefinitely, perfect for drones, wind noises etc
3. The oscillator has 2 waveforms, a variable square and a triangle. Somewhat unusually, the later's shape is adjustable from a ramp to a sawtooth allowing some rather subtle, delicate timbres to be created.
4. There is also VCF input that takes the supplied expression pedal, allowing the filter's cutoff to be played like a wah-wah. Talking of which, the filter can self-resonate with the best of them and can be switched between bp and lp modes.

Sound-wise, this synth excels at abstract drones and soundscapes, random machine noises, flowing leads and rather haunting solo violin type sounds. It's certainly no Synthi but it capable of far more sonic goodness than its simple architecture might suggest!"

Powertran Transcendent 2000 Demo by The Purple People Strings
"All sounds (including drums and percussion) generated by my Transcendent 2000. Recorded in Reaper with a little delay and reverb added afterwards.

The Transcendent 2000 was an English single oscillator monosynth produced in kit form in the late 1970s. Designed by Tim Orr of EMS, the synth was used by Joy Division on their debut album "Unknown Pleasures". Examples are now extremely rare."