VSL woodwinds French Oboe - first impression

Hi folks,
 
I've been doing pretty much all symphonic stuff for the past while, and using the woodwinds from my various mid-to-low level libraries in my compositions: Personal Orchestra, Miroslav 2 CE, Halion Symphonic, Symphonic Essentials by Native Instruments, Hollywood Woodwinds, etc. Results have been decent.
 
But at Kuusniemi's suggestion, I took a look at the VSL woodwinds as potential upgrades on the above libraries. Earlier this week I finally got around to trying them out on Try-Sound via Best Service, and was impressed with how they sounded. And so I bought and downloaded the VSL French Oboe solo woodwind (the standard version, not the extended)...
 
And wow. As Kuusniemi said, the VSL woodwinds are really, really good. I mean, excellent. The French Oboe is smooth, clean, has lovely and balanced tones, great legato, lots of really useful articulations, and none of the articulations sound too different from each other in tone (beyond the expected differences that are normal between articulations). This latter issue was something I didn't like about the Miroslav and Garritan libraries in particular -- some articulations sound like a different player altogether, and moving between articulations could be jarring and artificial. The Hollywood woodwind libraries I have always found hard to use and the legato patches are not all that pleasant to listen to, IMHO. The HW double-reeds in particular are whiny and nasal, and kind of pitchy, and the legato transition samples way too noticeable.  
 
But I am very impressed with the French Oboe from the VSL, and so far it blends beautifully with my preferred string libraries. I'll be buying more of the VSL's for sure. The download and installation process is a bit of a chore, and I had to spend a few mins fiddling around the VSL Ensemble before I got the patch loaded up, but I figured it out. It seems like quite a nice player, very full features with an emphasis on quick and seamless access to articulations and midi controls features.
 
Anyway, I just figured I'd offer up my initial impressions of the French Oboe, in case anyone else was considering shopping around for woodwind libraries. Give the VSL ones some consideration. And thanks to Kuusniemi for making the suggestion. 
 
Rob