{"product_id":"el-jaguar","title":"EL Jaguar","description":"\u003ch3\u003eRe-amped Sonic Monuments from Colombia’s Caribbean Coast\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTo bring El Jaguar to life, we had to follow the sound—into the heat, colour and movement of Barranquilla, Colombia, where towering Picó sound systems pulse at the city’s core. These aren’t ordinary speakers. Handbuilt and painted like mythical creatures or street heroes, each Picó is a living monument to rhythm, reshaping music with pure power and personality. Since the 1950s, they’ve carried Afro-Colombian and Caribbean currents—always loud, always alive.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBut before the Picós could leave their mark, we built a toolkit worthy of them.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDeep in the wintry forests of Quebec, inside La Hacienda Creative’s studio, we recorded everything that would become El Jaguar: hollowed-out wooden drums, marimbas, hand-played African percussion, never-repeating handcrafted modular lines, electrically plucked strings—and the unforgettable punch of early drum machines. With our Montréal-based synth wizard Yulian Pugachevsky, we pushed a classic 808, a LinnDrum, and a bench of vintage analogue boxes into the red—saturating, swelling and resampling every single hit. Nothing was polished, only energetic.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOnly then did we head south—not to document Picó culture, but to take part in it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn Barranquilla we re-amped every acoustic hit and electronic thump through towering Picó stacks, letting raw air, concrete walls and punishing volume shape fresh forms. Picó didn’t just make things louder; it made them physical. Notes swam and smeared, taking on the grit of the street and the pulse of the crowd. Chaos was the point; distortion, our compass.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe same spirit sparked a live collaboration with Circuito Sonoro Lab—Laura Katic and Ximena Delat’s handmade modular workshop in Cali. Instead of simply sampling their synths, we invited them to patch and perform through Picó in real time. The sessions were improvised and electric; we stretched these performances into playable textures, layering a modern Colombian identity that is entirely its own.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe instrument’s design honours Picó aesthetics: each custom, hand-built stack has a name, a palette, and a signature sound energy. El Jaguar follows that tradition—bold, unpredictable, built to move people. And it’s personal: many of our team have roots in Colombia and across Latin America. Channelling that heritage—sharing a sonic world that is often overlooked yet full of depth and innovation—fuelled every recording.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEl Jaguar is the fourth part in our Portals series—living instruments that let you step into a place, a culture, a moment. It’s an interactive virtual instrument that expands your colour palette with sounds and processes that are rarely available outside their source. What we discovered in Barranquilla surprised us, and we hope it surprises you too.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"margin-top: 2em; padding-top: 2em; border-top: 1px solid #e0e0e0;\"\u003e\n\u003ch3 style=\"margin-bottom: 1em; color: #333; font-size: 1.2em; font-weight: 600;\"\u003eFeatures\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul style=\"list-style: disc; padding-left: 1.5em; margin: 0;\"\u003e\n\u003cli style=\"padding: 0.4em 0; color: #555;\"\u003e190 Elements presets\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli style=\"padding: 0.4em 0; color: #555;\"\u003e73 Atelier presets\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli style=\"padding: 0.4em 0; color: #555;\"\u003e240 sample maps\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli style=\"padding: 0.4em 0; color: #555;\"\u003eUp to 20 round robins\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli style=\"padding: 0.4em 0; color: #555;\"\u003eAll SSM-powered sample maps enabled! (Sample Start Modulation)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli style=\"padding: 0.4em 0; color: #555;\"\u003e384 kHz and 32 bit recording format\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli style=\"padding: 0.4em 0; color: #555;\"\u003eUp to 4 Stereo Multi-mic Channels\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\n\u003cdiv style=\"margin-top: 2em; padding-top: 2em; border-top: 1px solid #e0e0e0;\"\u003e\n\u003ch3 style=\"margin-bottom: 1em; color: #333; font-size: 1.2em; font-weight: 600;\"\u003eSystem Requirements\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"margin-bottom: 1.5em; padding: 1em; background-color: #f9f9f9; border-radius: 4px;\"\u003e\n\u003ch4 style=\"margin: 0 0 0.75em 0; color: #333; font-size: 1.05em; font-weight: 600;\"\u003emacOS\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; gap: 0.5em;\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"color: #555;\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong style=\"color: #333;\"\u003eOS:\u003c\/strong\u003e macOS\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"color: #555;\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong style=\"color: #333;\"\u003eRAM:\u003c\/strong\u003e 10 GB\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"color: #555;\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong style=\"color: #333;\"\u003eDisk:\u003c\/strong\u003e 20 GB\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"color: #555;\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong style=\"color: #333;\"\u003ePlugin Formats:\u003c\/strong\u003e VST-3, AU, AAX\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"color: #555;\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong style=\"color: #333;\"\u003eAdditional Requirements:\u003c\/strong\u003e ? AAX, VST3, and AU plugin for Windows \u0026amp; Mac OS (10.14+) including full M1 Chip support\n? Hassle-free copy protection—simply install, and the instrument is uniquely encrypted for use within your system\n? Seamless downloads, updates, and installation within\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"color: #555;\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong style=\"color: #333;\"\u003eInternet:\u003c\/strong\u003e Required\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"margin-bottom: 1.5em; padding: 1em; background-color: #f9f9f9; border-radius: 4px;\"\u003e\n\u003ch4 style=\"margin: 0 0 0.75em 0; color: #333; font-size: 1.05em; font-weight: 600;\"\u003eWindows\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; gap: 0.5em;\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"color: #555;\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong style=\"color: #333;\"\u003eOS:\u003c\/strong\u003e Windows\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"color: #555;\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong style=\"color: #333;\"\u003eRAM:\u003c\/strong\u003e 10 GB\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"color: #555;\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong style=\"color: #333;\"\u003eDisk:\u003c\/strong\u003e 20 GB\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"color: #555;\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong style=\"color: #333;\"\u003ePlugin Formats:\u003c\/strong\u003e VST-3, AAX\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"color: #555;\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong style=\"color: #333;\"\u003eAdditional Requirements:\u003c\/strong\u003e ? AAX, VST3, and AU plugin for Windows \u0026amp; Mac OS (10.14+) including full M1 Chip support\n? Hassle-free copy protection—simply install, and the instrument is uniquely encrypted for use within your system\n? Seamless downloads, updates, and installation within\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"color: #555;\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong style=\"color: #333;\"\u003eInternet:\u003c\/strong\u003e Required\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"1468","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54096924901699,"sku":"XCH-1436-1034","price":83.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0910\/4090\/7587\/files\/honduras-animals-endangered-jaguar.jpg?v=1775645257","url":"https:\/\/www.soundstorexl.com\/products\/el-jaguar","provider":"SoundStoreXL","version":"1.0","type":"link"}