Hello mikeyggg,
I am sorry to hear that you are having difficulties setting up Articulate Presets.
You are right that the manual is weighty, since the presets have many features 😊, but it is not necessary to read all of it to start. There is a setup section in the manual and the installation of the presets is generally rather quick (and it seems this worked already).
With Articulate Presets you can access the entire content of VSL Vienna Instruments libraries with program change messages and a few controllers (CC2,3,4 & 20) that continuously change various aspect of these sounds. Program change messages are generally the quickest and easiest way to access a large number of different sounds/playing techniques on a keyboard and the presets work fine with program change messages. But it could be that it is harder to set up your keyboard to send these program change messages as well as the continuous controllers, and you will have to check the documentation that came with your keyboard for details how this is done. There are 100s of different hardware controllers on the market and how these are set up is unfortunately different for each of them. Therefore, it would be impossible to releasee a quick start guide or a video that could explain how this is done in all cases.
However, in case you use a tablet, you could download the VSL VI pro tablet app and control everything conveniently this way.
And if you use one of the supported Music Applications (Logic, Studio One, Cubase or Dorico) selecting playing techniques is even easier and you don't have to use program change messages. These comprehensive implementations are likewise included in the demo package and there are separate manuals that explain each of them (as well as the setup) in detail.
If you have more detailed questions, please contact us directly at:
I hope this helps.
All the best
Kai