Will,
If no-one mentioned oboe....to my ear, the melody instrument sound would not be construed as such
But - the good news - I think it is a perfect representation of a vintage Italian portable organ...was Farfisa the brand? Remember the ones that were finished in some whacked-out red plastic, and had a little fan that drove the reeds?
It's a great effect, even if unintentional, and I swear I'll corroborate your story if you want to tell folks you sweated for hours over your software to come up with that elusive "Farfisa vibe"...
Oren.
Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear.
It was originally supposed to be an Ocarina (as strange sort of ceramic whistle/flute for those who don't know) but kara and other didn't like it (I wasn't over pleased with it myself).
I then changed it for a flute, but that sounded too shrill against the other instruments, so I dropped it an octave. This put in rather in the overlap area of flute/oboe.
Thom picked up on Oboe, so I shrugged and accepted that.
Now you say Farfisa
I think I have to take a stand now, so it is defintitely a ocariflutobofisa
However...
The important thing is that people like it, whatever instrument they hear!