Gustavo Santaolalla’s sound hits you in the chest. It’s subtle, layered, and hits a mood most of us can’t quite name—but we feel it.

Now, for the first time ever, Spitfire Audio has taken the instrument that helped define Santaolalla’s award-winning sound—the ronroco—and turned it into a beautifully sampled VST. “Ronroco by Gustavo Santaolalla” is a fully playable, emotionally charged library made for anyone who wants to tap into that same vibe.

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Released on April 24th, 2025, and priced at £139/$169/€149 (with a 20% launch discount through May 8), the library offers producers, composers, and musicians a rare chance to dig into the exact textures Santaolalla used on projects like The Last of Us, Brokeback Mountain, and Babel. It’s available now through Spitfire Audio’s website, and yeah, it’s kind of a big deal.

At a Glance: Here’s What You Need to Know

  • It’s the first-ever virtual instrument built around Gustavo Santaolalla’s actual ronroco.
  • Every sample was recorded by Santaolalla in his LA studio, using his personal techniques and favorite handmade instrument.
  • The plugin comes with multiple articulations, built-in FX, and intuitive play modes that make the ronroco feel alive under your fingers.

Capturing the Sound of an Icon

The ronroco’s a bit of an underdog in the world of stringed instruments. But in Santaolalla’s hands, it became a storytelling machine. He’s been pushing the boundaries of this Andean cousin of the guitar for decades, recording an entire album built around it and scoring some of the most emotionally gripping moments in TV and film.

This new library gives users a direct line to that same sound. The Spitfire Audio team captured every nuance: the double-string resonance, octave tuning, and extended sustain that give the ronroco its signature texture. It’s all been programmed with precision by Mike Georgiades, the mind behind other Spitfire hits like MG Soft Acoustic and MG Soft Nylon Guitar.

Inside the plugin, you’ll find smart performance features like a 32-step sequencer, auto chord-voicing that matches traditional ronroco tuning, and dynamic FX like tape and ping pong delays. And yes, the little details—fret squeaks, slides, vibrato—they’re all in there, just like you’d hear on a Santaolalla track.

Spitfire Audio co-founder Paul Thomson put it best: “Gustavo opened up the world’s ears to the creative possibilities of the ronroco thanks to his sensitive, luminous playing and intuitive yet complex compositions. We want to offer these creative possibilities to more musicians, composers, and producers.”

A Composer’s Legacy, in Your Hands

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Santaolalla’s career has always circled back to the ronroco. From his early days in the Buenos Aires rock scene to his Oscar-winning scores, the instrument’s been a kind of compass for him. Even when he entered the world of gaming with The Last of Us, the ronroco came along for the ride, helping him build emotional weight with spare, haunting arrangements.

So when HBO adapted The Last of Us for television, it was a no-brainer to bring Santaolalla back. The sound of the ronroco had already become a defining part of the story’s emotional DNA.

This plugin doesn’t just give you the notes—it gives you the feel. It’s rare to find a sample library that gets that right, but Spitfire Audio and Santaolalla nailed it. Whether you’re scoring a film, composing for games, or just making tracks in your bedroom, this library offers a powerful way to bring those iconic textures into your work.

If you’ve been chasing that cinematic warmth and clarity in your own music, Ronroco by Gustavo Santaolalla might just be the missing piece.

The post Spitfire Audio and Gustavo Santaolalla Bring the Ronroco to Your DAW appeared first on Magnetic Magazine.