Text: Rafael Domingos (rafael_gaita@hotmail.com)

Fruit of many years living together, preparing the harmonicas that Otavio uses, I will be mentioning here a new customization, that searches to deepen some questions in respect to the treatment that should be given to the instrument and its sound. Even more when the goal is to create comfort to make possible the use of its fullness of note.

We have known each other since 2000, when he did a workshop in my city, Juiz De Fora/Brazil (MG), and since then I started to study in Rio de Janeiro with him. At this time I had been working with refining and maintenance of harmonicas, with ten years of experience with this instrument. Still, when knowing Otavio’s work I decided to give a yaw, thinking about the chromatization of the instrument, under the perspective of perfectioning of the conditions for a beautiful timbre.

We conclude then that, a detailed customization was necessary, that we can list as the following topics: standardized refining, prohibition of the air emptyings, improvement of the answers, improvement of the acoustics, cleanness, amongst others.

In this meaning, the experience that I have been acquiring, mainly in these last years, makes me believe and work for the development of models of more advanced harmonicas, abandoning certain materials known as overcome. I hope I’m able to make this dream come true one day.

Otavio Castro uses HERING HARMÔNICAS Golden Blow em C especially customizadas by Rafael Domingos.