A signature sound that adds emotion to music, film and games. Immerse yourself in the personal sonic world of Gustavo Santaolalla. For composers working in media seeking truly authentic, evocative textures to capture drama, tension and vast landscapes, or producers wanting a unique sonic character unavailable elsewhere, this library captures the singular voice of the iconic, award-winning ronroco composer. Hearn in his iconic scores for The Last of Us, Motorcycle Diaries, Babel and his seminal solo album Ronroco, it’s more than just a collection of sounds; it’s the culmination of a deep personal connection, carefully translated into playable form.
Ronroco by Gustavo Santaolalla offers a sophisticated yet intuitive interface across four main pages – Perform, Sequencer, Calibrate and FX – designed to make it easy for you to harness the unique character of the instrument.
Perform: Real-time performance capability
This is your central hub for live playing, seamlessly integrating multiple performance approaches:
Expressive note playing:
Instantly capture Gustavo’s feel as you play melodies across the instrument’s full range, enhanced by a suite of key switch-activated articulations. Featuring realistic pre- and post-note slides (up and down), sampled vibrato (plus additional simulated vibrato via the modulation wheel) and signature half-tone/whole-tone ‘twiddles’, all played by Gustavo.
Up to seven cycling robins and four dynamic layers per note provide incredibly realistic expression, with intelligent string selection cycling the strings in a way that matches Gustavo’s actual playing technique.
Authentic Ligs and Noises
Perform automatic slurs (hammer-on/pull-off) by layering notes within playable legato intervals controlled by velocity sensitivity. Add realistic detail with dedicated key switches for a variety of velocity-sensitive string squeaks, bends, and slides. Automatically trigger fret noises when you release the sustain pedal for realistic transitions (can be turned off for manual control).
Intuitive Chord and Strum System
Easily create authentic ronroco vocals and rhythms. Easily set chords by holding the Set Chord key switch and playing a triad. Choose between Automatic Vocals (which intelligently interpret major, minor, seventh, and sus chords for authentic ronroco vocals) or Manual for complete user control. Perform realistic up/down strokes with the dedicated keys (yellow keys), including string strike articulation. Control the speed and humanization of the strings for organic variation.
Arpeggio and Tremolo Control
Play individual strings of arpeggio-style chords with the string keys (blue keys), or trigger lush major/minor tremolo chords based on the current selection with the dedicated tremolo key. Control the tremolo attack/release envelope and trigger behavior (strumming or fading).
Performance Effects
Use the Fix String switch to lock your playing to a specific string, effective for certain slide techniques. Engage the open string switches for specific strings to create smooth, ringing chord changes and textures. Control how chord changes respond (squeaks, stops, sustain). Control the unique octave-doubled third string manually or automatically.
Sequencer: Instant, Authentic Rhythm
Create complex patterns and rhythmic layers with a powerful yet easy-to-use sequencer engine:
Flexible Sequencer: Use a fully customizable 4-bank, 32-step (max) sequencer. Activate/deactivate notes for each string for each step. Define articulation (style switching) and playing direction (plucking, up, down) for each step. Control the volume for each step relative to your playing speed.
Authentic Rhythms
Load presets containing MIDI patterns derived from authentic ronroco rhythms and arpeggio styles interpreted from Gustavo’s playing. The library also carefully recreates playing articulations such as up and down strokes, which are crucial to capturing the true sound of the instrument, especially on the double-octave third string.
Creative Control
Set the sequence length (bars), time signature, and speed (step division). Adjust the stroke velocity, stroke anthropomorphism (randomness), step anthropomorphism (sync), and swing amount for an organic feel. Define the behavior of chord decays and sequences.
DAW Integration
Easily record your performance in the sequencer, including chord changes, and simply drag and drop the resulting MIDI file directly into your DAW project. Load and save your own sequence templates.
Calibration: Customizing the Feel
Fine-tune the instrument’s global settings to suit your needs:
- Adjust the overall volume, stereo width, and near/far mic balance
- Control the level of fret noise and whether the noises are triggered when the pedal is released
- Control the instrument’s dynamic range (compression) and shape the note attack envelope
- Optionally add the authentic room tone from Gustavo’s own studio where the Ronroco was recorded
- Customize the string tuning order
The FX Page: Shaping the Ambience
Add professional polish and ambience with three integrated effects:
Choose from high-quality Convolution Reverb, Algorithmic Reverb, and Delay. Easily activate, bypass, and adjust parameters for each effects module.
Extract the Presets.zip archive to the root folder of the library. The path should be as follows:
Ronroco by Gustavo Santaolalla [Spitfire Audio]\Presets\ Gustavo Presets and so on…
Due to spaces at the beginning of the NKA file names, errors may occur when copying them, so after extracting the files from the archive, it is recommended to save this archive in the root folder.