Hans Zimmer's Symphonic Elements by Ujam: Plugin Review

Disclaimer: I received this product in exchange for my honest review. The Metalverse is an independent website, and all opinions expressed are our own with no monetary incentive. We thank the team at UJAM for giving us this opportunity.

When legendary film composer Hans Zimmer co-founded UJAM and granted access to his personal orchestral library, the result was Symphonic Elements, a suite of virtual instruments that promises Hollywood-grade sounds without requiring orchestration expertise. But does this phrase-based approach deliver professional results, or does it sacrifice too much control for convenience?

What is Hans Zimmer's Symphonic Elements?

Hans Zimmer's Symphonic Elements is a collection of four virtual instrument plugins developed by UJAM: STRIIIINGS, BRAAASS, DRUMS, and PERRCS. Each plugin features recordings from Zimmer's multi-million dollar personal library, captured at Remote Control Studios by world-class musicians. Rather than traditional sample libraries requiring detailed orchestration knowledge, these instruments use a phrase-based performance engine that transforms simple MIDI input into cinematic orchestral arrangements. Each of the four instruments is priced at $249 USD or $499 for the entire bundle.

The series is built around UJAM's philosophy of making professional instruments accessible to producers who don't play traditional orchestral instruments. You won't find solo instruments or granular control over articulations here. Instead, the focus is onpre-programmed phrases, rhythmic patterns, and intelligent playback that responds to your chord progressions and tempo.

Symphonic Elements Bundle Key Features

Style-Based Phrase Engine

Each plugin centers on a style selection system where choosing a style loads a complete set of musically coherent phrases. STRIIIINGS offers 60 styles with over 200 presets, BRAAASS provides 78 styles with 468 phrases, DRUMS includes 53 styles with over 1,200 phrases, and PERRCS features 74 rhythm styles with 17 playable phrases each. Every phrase automatically syncs to your DAW's tempo and includes variations, intros, fills, and endings.

The engine interprets your MIDI input musically, meaning you can play simple chords or single notes, and the plugin will trigger appropriate ensemble responses. This approach works particularly well for producers who need cinematic elements quickly but lack formal orchestration training.

Dual-Layer Architecture

All four instruments share a consistent interface design featuring high and low sections that can be controlled independently. In STRIIIINGS, this means separating violins and violas (high strings) from cellos and double basses (low strings). BRAAASS divides into high brass (trumpets and horns) versus low brass (tubas and bass trombones). DRUMS splits into high drums (snares and toms) and low drums (bass drums and timpani). PERRCS similarly separates percussion into high and low frequency ranges.

A crossfade slider lets you blend between these layers seamlessly, and each layer has its own Character effects, Motion FX, and EQ controls. This separation provides surprising flexibility for shaping your orchestral sound while maintaining the simplified workflow.

Character and Motion FX

Each layer includes two dedicated effect buses. Character effects offer 30 different options for tonal shaping, while Motion FX provides rhythmic and textural variations. These aren't just standard reverbs and delays - they're purpose-built processing designed specifically for orchestral material, ranging from subtle enhancements to dramatic transformations.

Finisher Effects Section

The custom Finisher section provides one-knob sound design capabilities with dozens of modes per instrument. This single control can transform pristine orchestral recordings into gritty, distorted textures suitable for electronic music, or add shimmer and space for more traditional scoring applications. It's surprisingly powerful for such a simple interface.

MIDI Mapping and Performance Control

All parameters can be MIDI-learned for hands-on control. This matters for live performance and expressive tweaking, allowing you to map the crossfader, effects parameters, and style selections to your controller.

Sound Library

The recordings themselves represent the plugin's greatest asset. These sounds are actually from Hans Zimmer's personal collection, recorded at one of the world's premier scoring stages with top-tier musicians and equipment. The room tone, dynamic range, and tonal quality reflect decades of refinement in Zimmer's workflow.

STRIIIINGS delivers lush, emotional string performances with the "big" cinematic sound that comes from premium recording environments. The legato transitions feel natural, and the dynamic response captures the subtle nuances of ensemble playing.

BRAAASS provides powerful brass fanfares and rhythmic stabs with impressive clarity across the frequency spectrum. The high brass has the bright, noble quality expected from film scores, while the low brass delivers substantial weight without muddiness.

DRUMS offers thunderous low-end percussion that sits perfectly in modern mixes. The timpani and bass drums have genuine depth and impact, while the snares and toms cut through with appropriate attack and sustain.

PERRCS fills the often-overlooked high-frequency percussion range with shakers, sticks, daikos, wood blocks, surdos, triangles, and anvils. These elements add rhythmic detail and cinematic sparkle that complement the other three instruments naturally.

The sound quality across all four plugins is consistently excellent. Since everything was recorded in the same space with the same attention to detail, the instruments blend cohesively when layered together.

However, it's important to understand what you're not getting. You cannot program intricate orchestral passages with detailed control over bowing techniques, breath attacks, or individual note performances. These tones aren't designed to be used for fast lead melodies, but instead, deep, realistic orchestral and percussive sounds that create an evolving, life-like sound. The phrase-based approach means you're working within the musical framework that UJAM has programmed, albeit a very extensive one.

Interface & Usability

UJAM has designed an interface that prioritizes speed and inspiration. The layout is immediately understandable–style selection, layer controls, effects, and the mixer occupy clearly defined sections. Even first-time users can achieve usable results within minutes.

The style browser displays descriptive names that help you find appropriate patterns quickly. When integrated with certain DAWs, style and phrase descriptions appear directly in the piano roll, streamlining your workflow further.

One notable design choice is the emphasis on performance rather than programming. You're encouraged to play phrases in real-time, use the crossfader expressively, and tweak effects on the fly. This makes the plugins feel more like instruments than preset boxes, which suits some workflows better than others.

The preset system deserves particular mention. With hundreds of presets per instrument, and each preset containing multiple performance phrases and variations, you're looking at thousands of musical starting points. The presets represent distinct musical characters with appropriate phrase selections and effect chains.

From a workflow perspective, the plugins load quickly, CPU usage is reasonable, and the interface responds without noticeable latency. The small installation footprint means you're not sacrificing massive amounts of storage for these sounds.

The primary limitation is also inherent to the design philosophy–if you need precise control over every orchestral element, or if you want to compose complex counterpoint with independent voice leading, these tools don't offer that. They're built for producers who value speed and musicality over granular control.

The relatively modest system requirements make these plugins accessible to producers with mid-range systems. The small footprint compared to comprehensive orchestral libraries (which often require 100+ GB) is notable, though this reflects the phrase-based approach rather than extensive multi-sampling.

Value for Your Money

Individual Plugin Pricing:

• STRIIIINGS: $249
• BRAAASS: $249
• DRUMS: $249
• PERRCS: $249

Bundle Pricing:

• Complete Bundle (all four instruments): $499
• Drums & Percussion Bundle: $349

The value proposition depends entirely on your workflow and expectations. At $249 per instrument or $499 for the complete bundle, these aren't budget tools. However, they're significantly less expensive than comprehensive orchestral libraries from competing companies, which often cost $500-$1,500+ for comparable coverage. For any musician or producer who wants easily accessible, phrase-based orchestra and percussion, Symphonic Elements is an easy choice and its sound quality is incredible. If you prefer a non-phrase orchestra workflow, then you may want to consider other options.

The bundle pricing provides substantial savings over individual purchases. If you anticipate using more than one instrument, the complete bundle at $499 represents better value, cutting the cost in half compared to buying all 4 individually.

Crossgrade options also exist for owners of other UJAM products, potentially reducing the entry cost.

Preset Examples

To understand what these instruments can do, let's examine some representative preset categories and their practical applications:

STRIIIINGS

• Emotional Sustains: Long, swelling string pads perfect for building tension or supporting melodic content
• Rhythmic Ostinatos: Driving eighth-note or sixteenth-note patterns that create momentum
• Dramatic Crescendos: Building phrases that start soft and swell to powerful conclusions
• Textural Atmospheres: Shimmering, ethereal backgrounds with motion and movement

BRAAASS

• Epic Fanfares: Bold, triumphant brass declarations suitable for trailers and action sequences
• Rhythmic Stabs: Short, punchy accents that emphasize beat subdivisions
• Noble Sustains: Long, majestic brass chords for heroic themes
• Aggressive Clusters: Dissonant, aggressive brass for tension and chaos

DRUMS

• Thunderous Impacts: Single hits and rhythmic patterns emphasizing low-end power
• Rolling Tension: Building tom and timpani rolls that increase intensity
• Rhythmic Foundations: Steady percussion grooves that anchor the mix
• Sparse Accents: Carefully placed hits for punctuation rather than constant rhythm

PERRCS

• Shimmering Textures: High-frequency sparkle from shakers, triangles, and bells
• Rhythmic Detail: Intricate patterns on wood blocks, sticks, and hand drums
• Dramatic Accents: Single hits and short phrases for emphasis
• Sustained Motion: Continuous rhythmic activity that adds energy without dominating

Each preset works as a complete musical idea rather than just a sound. You're not selecting a basic "violins sustain" and then programming every note - you're selecting "Emotional Build 3" which includes appropriate phrase choices, rhythmic patterns, and effects settings. This fundamentally changes how you interact with the instruments.

Final Verdict

The sound quality is unquestionably professional - these are Hans Zimmer's actual recordings, and they sound appropriately cinematic. The interface is well-designed and efficient. The preset library is extensive and genuinely useful. The price point is quite reasonable for what you receive.

If you want a massive, ready-to-go collection of orchestral sounds, this will be a dream come true. If you want to play every note and program individual sections, Symphonic Elements won't provide this option.

I think overall that most producers and musicians will certainly benefit from Hans Zimmer's Symphonic Elements and it is a very impressive and easily accessible plugin that will cover most people's uses very well.

The Symphonic Elements series isn't trying to replace comprehensive orchestral libraries. It's offering a different approach that trades exhaustive control for immediate usability. For most, that's an excellent trade-off.

Technical Specifications

System Requirements

Operating Systems:

• Windows 10 - Windows 11
• macOS Monterey (12) - macOS Tahoe (26)
• 64-bit only
• Supported on Intel Macs and Apple Silicon Macs (both Rosetta and native)

Minimum Requirements:

• RAM: 4-8 GB (varies by instrument)
• Display: 1280 x 768 px
• Internet connection required for download and authorization

Disk Space:

• STRIIIINGS: Approximately 6 GB
• BRAAASS: 6.31 GB
• DRUMS: 4.7 GB
• PERRCS: 1.5 GB
• Complete Bundle: Approximately 12 GB (when purchasing all four)

Plugin Formats:

• VST 2
• VST 3
• AU 2 (Logic Pro X and newer only)
• AAX

Installation & Authorization:

• Automated installation via UJAM App or downloadable installer files
• Quick authorization through UJAM App or email/password within the plugin
• Sample content stored as .blob files
• SSD recommended if moving samples to external drive to prevent dropouts

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