We continue the repair of the ARP Avatar, first repairing a problem with the synthesizer section, and then try out the guitar interface with the special hex pickup. Of course it’s not working, and we track the problem down to the D’ module which converts a guitar string to a control voltage. ARP never published the schematic for this module, but we use some basic troubleshooting skills to figure out the problem and get the Avatar working as a guitar synthesizer.
00:00 Intro & recap
00:48 Troubleshoot & repair of missing VCO 2 Square Wave and Filter LFO modulation
07:21 Controlling the Avatar with a vintage ARP Odyssey
08:15 Testing the guitar interface with the hex pickup
12:56 Troubleshooting and repair of string to CV conversion
20:56 Success!
23:56 Thoughts about the ARP Avatar and conclusion
My oscilloscope: https://amzn.to/3rm6b8d
My multimeter: https://amzn.to/3Ltgqi3
My desoldering tool: https://amzn.to/3PikaEf
Soldering station: https://amzn.to/402LjBh
Parts, service and synthesizers available on my website. I buy broken synthesizers!
