[3] The Avatar was a synthesizer module virtually identical to the ARP Odyssey without a keyboard with an added 6-way "fuzzbox" distortion effect, intended to be played by a solid body electric guitar via a specially-mounted hexaphonic guitar pickup whose signals were then processed through discrete pitch-to-voltage converters.

Guitarists were not quick to adopt the new technology, mostly due to the unit's price and technical eccentricities.

After failing to recoup the Avatar's losses, ARP Instruments declared bankruptcy in May 1981.

Other notable Avatar users include Mike Rutherford, Steve Howe, Paddy Kingsland of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, Howard Leese, and Jimmy Page.

[4] Due to the Avatar's similarities with the synthesis architecture of the Odyssey, it has regained a little stature among collectors as a standalone synthesizer.