diff --git a/VERSIONS b/VERSIONS
index 9cefaae86..0ee06e81b 100644
--- a/VERSIONS
+++ b/VERSIONS
@@ -2,6 +2,12 @@
 ChucK VERSIONS log
 ------------------
 
+1.5.3.2
+=======
+- (fixed, windows) SndBuf issue when compiled with UNICODE (FYI SndBuf is still ANSI,
+    but this averts an error due to char width mismatch)
+
+
 1.5.3.1 (October 2024)
 *** ChuGL maintanance patch ***
 - (fixed) crash caused by calling UI functions before calling GG.nextFrame();
diff --git a/src/core/util_sndfile.c b/src/core/util_sndfile.c
index 814fe2198..4af5c9420 100644
--- a/src/core/util_sndfile.c
+++ b/src/core/util_sndfile.c
@@ -8008,7 +8008,7 @@ psf_fopen (SF_PRIVATE *psf, const char *pathname, int open_mode)
 				return psf->error ;
 		} ;
 
-	handle = CreateFile (
+	handle = CreateFileA (              /* (ge & eito) explicitly use ANSI version of CreateFile | 1.5.3.2 */
 			pathname,					/* pointer to name of the file */
 			dwDesiredAccess,			/* access (read-write) mode */
 			dwShareMode,				/* share mode */