a few observations about these two products and studio linked vst in general.

first the sounds that are included in their products aren't that great. the drum sounds are passable, but the the arps, leads, pads, etc leave much to be desired. you would be better off getting a few decent synths like sylenth, massive or z3ta+.

secondly, although these 2 products let you play chords with 1 finger, it doesn't tell you any rules about progression. without learning at least the circle of fifths, you can play any chord with 1 finger but you won't be able to play a progression that is correct (and sounds good) without knowing the basics.

now i applaud studiolinkedvst for the business savvy to make products that appeal to the large number of newb producers out there. dude is making some dough from these kontakt instruments. but if you are serious about music making, products like these will only serve to empty your pockets. people these days want instant success or gratification. what happened to taking your time to learn what you do? music today is like McDonalds...over 5 billion served, microwaved, sitting under a heat lamp. Don't be a big mac, be a porterhouse from Del Frisco's.

if you want to learn, products like cthulu or tonespace are excellent learning tools. i actually learned about the balzano space with tonespace.

 

why do people need this?
Nothing comes free in life. If you want to make true music, go ahead and study music theory by yourself.
This type of product should disappear from this planet. They only make lousy amateur guys worse.

 

why?

maybe because if you're not (yet) a master of music theory it's nice to be able to easily play all kind of 'exotic' chords. that's also worth something, right?

 

Jeeezzz... I want comment this but I decided to bite my tongue.

 

Allow me to offer a quote which could be a middle ground:
"If everyone’s a musician, and everybody is making mediocre music, eventually the world is just covered in mediocrity. And people start to become comfortable with mediocrity. And that to me is the danger." – Moby

I'm not saying that everyone has to learn music theory (though I think it's really worthwhile) and it all comes down to what genre you write. My love is for Industrial which could care less about dissonance. In fact I think the genre does a really effective job and it allows the music to have maximum impact. However for the vast majority of people music theory is indispensable. I mean to just push away a legacy that has been left to us by some of the greatest composers in history is ignorant. The truth is that if we do respect these guidelines we simply tell ourselves that it's too difficult so in essence offer an excuse rather than looking at it as an opportunity. Like I said before: a lot of music theory isn't that difficult. Of course it does get proportionally more challenging when you get into harmony because you're dealing with more than 1 voice or melodic line but then again you are trying to be a composer. It stands to reason that in order to effectively manage your music you should know how it works as a language. It equates to an accountant that can't do math.

 

I have the studiolinkedvst chord/melody kontakt 5 banks. The chord is nice, even if you already know them. I dont think its worth as much as i paid though. But i support studiolinked, I have bought just about all thier libraries.