UJAM – CARBON VIRTUAL GUITARIST & SYMPHONIC ELEMENTS STRIIIINGS & DRUMS
KK-ACCESS REVIEW
UJAM have recently made a range of their most popular instruments NKS compatible, and in recognition of this, they have a partner promotion currently going on at the Native Instruments website.
in the first of a two part review, we looked at the Beatmaker series (included in the Beats Now bundle), and were impressed by the good level of NKS implementation that has been bestowed upon the range.
in this, the second part, we take a look at their Carbon Virtual Guitar, and also Striiiings & Drums, which are two of the plugins from their Symphonic Elements series, all three of which feature in the Supersize Bundle along with the Beatmaker products.
TECH SPECS
All UJAM products are self contained plugins, meaning that they do not need to make use of host applications such as Kontakt or Reaktor, similarly despite being NKS compatible, they do not require any authorisation through Native Access.
Carbon Virtual Guitar requires 4.5GB of disk space for installation, Striiiings will need 4.7GB and Drums demands just 2.4GB.
DOWNLOAD & INSTALLATION
Download & installation is all handled seamlessly and most importantly very accessibly using the UJAM software management application.
It is also easy to access the product user manuals from here, as well as relocate the sample content and any available product updates, full credit to UJAM for making this a painless task for us.
CARBON VIRTUAL GUITAR – KOMPLETE KONTROL NKS MAPPING
Page One – Amp
Knob 1 – Severity
Knob 2 – Condition: Paranoid, Disturbed, Insane, Rabid, Lobotomised,
Knob 3 – Mode: Off, Infinity, Dual Peak Sweep, Euro Rack 1, Euro Rack 2, Space Grinder, Raw, Jet Plane, Spacey, Caveman, Phaser Razor, Big Hair, Trigger Happy, Double Track, Synth Tremolo, Clouds, Erith 2 SS, Air Vent Tunnel, Cyber Leslie, Cyber Fate, Disrotition, Megaphone, Old Radio, Hot Bath, Rotor Cab, Frequency Shift, Auto Pan Vary, Comb Filter, Bit Crusher, Slam Compressor, Vibrato, Big Vibrato, Vari Bite, Vari Notch, Bass Boost, Bin Boost, Bass/Treble, LP4 8, BP, HP 4 8, Notch, LP Indst, Delay 4, Delay 6, Delay 8, Delay 12, Delay 16, Delay 24, Beat Delay, Guitar Room, Spring Reverb, Staircase, Iron Plate, Courtyard, Cathedral, Hanger, Flanger, Chorus 1 to 4, Phaser 1 to 4, Cabinet 1 to 5, Gater Vari, Gater 1, 8,12,16,24
Knob 4 – Finisher
Knob 5 – Focus
Knob 6 – Filter
Knob 7 – Volume
Knob 8 – Unallocated
Page Two – Cabinet
Knob 1 – Laer: One, Double, Triple, Quadruple
Knob 2 – Distance
Knob 3 – Spread
Knob 4 – Separation
Knob 5 to 8 – Unallocated
Page Three – Phrase Player
Knob 1 – Style
Knob 2 – Feel
Knob 3 – Swing
Knob 4 – Song Key
Knob 5 to 8 – Unallocated
SYMPHONIC ELEMENTS – STRIIIINGS & DRUMS NKS MAPPING
Page One – Master & Player
Knob 1 – Finisher
Knob 2 – High lighter
Knob 3 – Ambience
Knob 4 – Volume
Knob 5 – Swing
Knob 6 – Speed: Half, Normal, Double
Knob 7 – Key
Knob 8 – Unallocated
Page Two – Low & High Strings
Knob 1 – Low FX
Knob 2 – Low Motion Fx
Knob 3 – Low Focus EQ
Knob 4 – Low Decay
Knob 5 – High FX
Knob 6 – High Motion FX
Knob 7 – High Focus EQ
Knob 8 – High Decay
*NOTE: THE NKS MAPPING FOR DRUMS IS IDENTICAL TO STRINGS
ACCESSIBILITY
You can be forgiven for thinking that the small number of NKS pages make this set of instruments perhaps less accessible than the Beatmaker series, this is not the case, at least when it comes to Carbon, the virtual guitar instrument.
The amp and cab selections have been mapped via NKS, and as you can read from the page mappings, there are a myriad of amp presets, meaning there are lots of possible combinations to choose from.
As we saw in the Beatmaker series, it is also possible to switch between the available phrase patterns from a single KK control knob, this is particularly handy if you happen to like a certain sound setting, but are perhaps not quite so taken with the selection of default rhythmic phrases that have been assigned to the preset.
The Focus, High lighter & Filter controls are also available from the first page, and these in common with all other knobs will be automatable from within your DAW.
The NKS mapping for the Symphonic Elements Striiiings & Drums has two pages , and although there are still a selection of useful parameters such as the Finisher, Highlighter, Ambience, volume, and phrase speed controls, for some reason the ability to switch between phrases from other presets has not found it’s way into the mapping for these two instruments, nor does it exist as an automatable control in the parameter list of the plugin outside of Komplete Kontrol.
PERFORMANCE & PLAYABILITY
Like all UJAM products, the emphasis is on ease of use, having a company ethos that minimises the need for complex GUI design and operation, there is much more going on under the hood than is obvious, which means that users can focus on the creative process rather than needing to wrestle with a complex flight deck style of user interface.
The
method of workflow is the same for each of these instruments, a designated section of your keyboard is given over to a play range, which is where you can play your own choice of notes and chords.
Elsewhere on your keyboard, there is another area dedicated to keyswitching between the various rhythmical phrases.
The pitch bend wheel in the case of the Symphonic Elements instruments will cross fade between high strings and low strings (or the drums equivalent for the drums plugin).
Whilst the mod wheel acts as a simulated crescendo effect to intensify the volume as you move the wheel downwards.
There is a latch control available to facilitate the constant playback of the phrases, however this does not appear to be present either as a keyswitch or an NKS assignment despite being available in the GUI. A workaround would be to instead use a sustain pedal.
The same absence is also true for the cross fade control, which acts as a balance between the high & low instruments, this is linked in parallel to the pitch bend, but the need for a static placeholder is still desirable.
*REVIEW NOTE: I was able to save my own auto generated NKSF preset using Maschine MK3 hardware, and this included additional Latch, Crossfade, Low & High Shape Controls, Sync to Beat or Note, and On/Off Switches for the Low & High layers, so these extra unmapped controls could potentially be included in a future NKS update.
SOUNDS & PRESETS
The Symphonic Elements series sample content was carefully cu rated directly from UJAM co-founder Hans Zimmers personal collection, which can be considered as an endorsement of the quality.
Much work has gone into the mechanics of how the product works in respect to that ‘ease of use’ mandate, and it does compare favourably alongside other products that have a phrase and rhythmic pattern based engine which is central to their use.
Striiiings has a huge collection of 382 NKS factory presets included, with the low range being catered for with Basses & Celli, while the mid and highs are taken care of with Viola & Violin ensembles.
I should point out that all of these presets do not immediately translate into an equally impressive number of phrases, as some of the patterns are duplicated in more than one preset, the real difference comes in the sound and effect mix variations, some being traditionally orchestral in nature, where others can perhaps seem a little more psychedelic, but of course beauty is in the ear of the beholder!
Symphonic Elements Drums has 283 presets, and again the same is applicable in respect of phrase quantity, there is still plenty to choose from though, and there is an eclectic collection of effectual mix styles going on.
The Symphonic Elements series are all phrase driven, so the option to play non rhythmically driven notes, chords or drum hits is not possible in the same way as the Beatmaker or Virtual Guitar series, which all include an instrument mode.
WIELDING THE AXE
The Carbon Virtual Guitar has 147 NKS presets, and there is an almost limitless potential here for a larger number of amp, cab & mix mode combinations thanks to the increased access to their individual controls within the NKS mapping.
- REVIEW NOTE: There is an entirely free version of the UJAM Finisher effect, called Finisher Micro, which is a superb add on for any instrument, but certainly works well with guitar instruments, here is the link:
https://www.ujam.com/finisher/micro/
Carbon has a raft of industry personality endorsements behind it, and is cited as being ideal for film & game composers.
It has two modes of use, the player mode which incorporates the rhythmic patterns, and the Instrument mode, which turns off the patterns allowing the guitar to be freely played as a standard instrument, with articulation keyswitches offering the ability to throw in some nifty performance embellishments for those of us less blessed in the finger gymnastics department.
There is a slight access caveat here, unless I am missing something obvious, as being able to switch to the instrument mode is not assigned to either an NKS control or a keyswitch, (I would have expected the latter), and using OCR (Optical Character Recognition) to scan the screen for the button, did find it, however hitting enter did not turn it on. Fortunately I did have some sighted help at hand, but this is something that could use a permanent solution for those new blind & Visually Impaired UJAM customers.
The emphasis on the Carbon sound is that of a heavily distorted guitar, and this it achieves well, and when those extreme FX are dialled in, Carbon can become distinctly synth like, which is an affirmation of it’s sound design qualities
in terms of realism and playability, there may be dedicated sample libraries out there which can add more in depth articulations, and expressive features, but I think Carbon certainly does what it says on the tin as an overall package, and will do a good job in adding a driving guitar rhythm for a number of different genres.
I would recommend checking out the product walkthrough links included at the review footer, and of course the one major benefit of the UJAM product range is that anyone can easily trial a fully unrestricted product for 30 days, which should be an ample opportunity to make a purchase decision.
Do be quick though, if you happen to be eyeing up the Native Instruments & UJAM promo bundles, as time is ticking on the offer, which ends on 31st August 2023.
CONCLUSION
With these three products UJAM are offering musicians a viable alternative to other Kontakt based pattern and phrase sample libraries that exist on the market at a very competitive price point.
There are a few small holes in the NKS mapping for blind & visually impaired users who will rely on the need for an extensive and feature rich template.
Fortunately there are workarounds that we can employ to get around these, so they should not be thought of as showstoppers, and they can potentially easily be corrected in a future update.
As a part of the current £179.00 Super Size bundle over & above the £89.00 Beats Now bundle (which are also included), these instruments work out at around £30 each, which represents a substantial saving.
The UJAM SuperSize bundle ( which includes the Beats Now pack) is available for a limited time from the Native Instruments website for £179.00 (regular price for individual content is £979.00).
Offer ends 31st August 2023.
UJAM & Native Instruments Bundle Page:
https://www.native-instruments.com/en/specials/komplete/ujam-offer-2023/
Carbon Virtual Guitar Product Page:
https://www.ujam.com/guitarist/carbon/
Carbon Virtual Guitar Walkthrough:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNB190M6mag
Symphonic Elements Striiiings Product Page:
https://www.ujam.com/symphonic-elements/striiiings/
Symphonic Elements Striiiings Walkthrough:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3exX6jaQ1Ws
Symphonic Elements Drums Product Page:
https://www.ujam.com/symphonic-elements/drums/
Symphonic Elements Drums Walkthrough:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57v8Gc_293w
UJAM Product Manuals:
https://support.ujam.com/hc/en-us/articles/213660069-Where-to-find-the-product-
(c) Chris Ankin
KK-Access.com
25TH August 2023
Disclaimer
The author can not accept any responsibility for subsequent purchase decisions made as a result of this review,or Any inaccuracies found therein. All opinions and product functions stated are based solely on information perceived as a blind user whilst using the product and/or gathered from official factual sources such as the developer, web or supplied product manual.
About the Author
Based in Buckinghamshire, England, Chris Ankin has worked as a freelance review writer and contributor with articles published in Sound On Sound, Home & Studio Recording and ST Format Magazines.
He has also successfully worked extensively in and around the music, recording, film Soundtrack scoring, Game & media composition, the creative arts, Charitable trusts,publishing, music streaming and property investments since 1982 whilst continuously and deliberately managing to evade any mainstream recognition under his own name by the use of various pseudonyms.
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