ARP Avatar

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Avatar by ARP Instruments, Inc.
Synthesis type:		Analog Subtractive
Polyphony:		1
Oscillators:		2
Multitimbral:		1
VCA:		ADSR, AR
LFO:		Sine, Square
Keyboard:		none
Velocity sensitive:		{{{velocity}}}
Aftertouch:		{{{aftertouch}}}
External control:		CV/Gate
Memory:		none
Onboard effects:		1
Produced:		1977

The ARP Avatar was a guitar-controlled synthesizer manufactured by ARP Instruments, Inc. beginning in 1977. While innovative, being one of the first commercial guitar-controlled synthesizers, it was a commercial flop for ARP, and is widely credited with causing the financial collapse of the company.

Nearly $4 million was spent in the first year on production and R&D for the Avatar, and the $3000 machine sold only about $1 million worth of units over its lifespan. Guitarists were not quick to adopt the new technology, mostly due to the unit's price and technical eccentricities. The Avatar, however, did find a few advocates and paved the way for more successful guitar synthesizers. Because of its architecture - essentially an ARP Odyssey with a 6-way "fuzzbox" distortion effect - it has regained a little stature among collectors as a standalone synthesizer.