ARP Avatar Vintage Analog Guitar Synthesizer – Serviced with Hex Pickup & Cable, New Sliders

Description

The ARP Avatar was a keyboardless ARP Odyssey, with the addition of a guitar interface, controllable through a special hexaphonic guitar pickup (which is working and included, but read below).  The synthesizer is also controllable through the CV/Gate/Trigger interface.

The synthesizer is in very good condition, with a scratch on the front edge, please see photos.  The High Pass Filter only seems to filter when the slider is maxed out.  This ARP Avatar has been serviced by Synthchaser in October 2025.  Work done included:

• Synthchaser Precision slider upgrade – All 37 of the old original sliders have been replaced with new, smooth, high precision sliders (Bourns sliders). The difference in the way these sliders feel and perform compared to the originals is a huge improvement.
• Recapped all accessible polarized capacitors – including power supply and all tantalum capacitors except those in the epoxy sealed submodule
• 4075 Filter cutoff frequency correction
• Tuned & Calibrated Synthesizer Section (not Guitar interface, see below)

While this unit does include an original hex pickup (the wider-spaced variety) and a brand new cable for the guitar interface, and the guitar interface has been tested for extreme basic functionality (specifically, triggering 6 different pitches from each of the six pickups, with the pitch changing as the string pitch changes), I’ve not (and will not) mount the pickup to a guitar and hence the pickup and guitar interface is being sold in as-is condition, not fully tested, and not calibrated.  This is mainly because ARP’s design was crap to begin with in the 1970’s, so if they couldn’t bother to get their shit working well in the 70’s, I’m not going to do it for them now in the 2020’s.  What’s more ridiculous is that they didn’t publish schematics and epoxy potted some of the circuitry for the guitar interface, like anyone would want to steal their design!  It’s akin to locking up your turds because flushing them isn’t secure enough.  If you want to assess the guitar interface’s functionality for yourself, please feel free to come and bring a guitar you can mount the pickup on and you can try it out all you’d like.

This is the Avatar being sold here:

Prospective buyers are welcome to come try it out before purchasing. Local pickup is welcome and encouraged.  If being shipped, the instrument will be insured for the full purchase price, but this is a vintage electronic item, so all sales are as-is and final.

International shipping is available for this item, but it cannot be ordered through the website with international shipping.  Please contact me if you are an international buyer interested in purchasing this.