Hello William,
I will help you, no problem.
As you known VSL is recorded in a silent stage. Instruments were close. It is unique to VSL which preserves all frequencies of the instrument in its original state which will allows you to:
1) Create very hard attack or release sounds
2) Make instruments warmer, thicker and fatter
3) Strengthen the vibrato and make it more romantic (especially when used with VI Pros Stretching)
4) Create artificial con sordinos
5) Induce prominent lower harmonics like the body sounds of an instrument
6) and more
The problem with the high range violin is the sometimes excessive "hissing" and the "ear killing shrill like you said". If you want to fix that then remember that with each pitch the frequency slightly changes.On high Violin notes always keep an eye around 2khz and 5khz to tame the shrill. Also everything from 15-20khz (hiss) can be reduced alot with a low pass filter (EQ).
In the following example I have a solo Violin playing a normal No Vibrato sustain crossfading to sustain vibrato E6. If you ask me, E6 is the most painful note on a Violin so I thought it would be great to use as a sample for you. What I modified was:
1) 2650 khz to reduce ear fatique 2) 6khz to strengthen Vibrato 3) 7khz and 1150 khz to give it more presence when needed 4) 230 khz to greatly increase lower harmonics.... Each of the spots have their Q set to either narrow or whide to be frequency specific. It it doesnt stay static. These values change the entire time so that the string sounds organic and much more alive. The "Stretching" even reinforces the vibrato even more. All the strength and dynamic you hear is EQ. No velocity Xfading used.
3 bands is really a must. Perfect is when your EQ supports 6 bands. Also I always add some nice reverb such as MIR Pro or "Miracle". The latter is used for the WAV example where I have set the stereo width to 125% (chamber).
In the following WAV file you will hear A VSL Solo Violin and a Solo Cello. Both show a comparison between first the "Raw Samples" and then the "Modified Samples". I hope you can hear the difference. I actually like my changes but I guess that is subjective. It doesnt mean that the raw VSL samples are bad but I rather want to show how far you can modify things to suit your needs. You can do way more than that though, it takes only a few seconds.
Here the link: http://vocaroo.com/i/s0fOZrkdSjvh
Careful of the first 4 seconds of the raw violin part, it can get a little loud (E6!)
I actually made my own frequency sheet specific to each Vienna Instrument. Was really worth it.