by Jasontimbal » Tue Jan 25, 2011 7:31 am
Hey Guys whats up. This is my first post. I wanted this to be my first post because I own MANY 3A products, and other products from other Colombian companies. Alejandro Arce the "CEO" of 3A is NOT a craftsman, in fact his first products were "outsourced" made by the Arces in south Colombia (no relation) and others such as TB and HR, he just stamped his label on them. In fact my first 3A bell has both HR and 3A stamped on it! The first one piece bonogs were amazing, but the new bongos are a MAJOR disapointment. The hardware is OK the skins are good, although the macho skin is too thick, but the shells are some of the poorest craftsmanship I have ever seen in my years as a percussionist. The wood is flor morada which is a medium strength wood found in South America. The cowbells are laminated steel which is layered, and after a few months of playing they lose their tone and become dull. Granted, I have read many post on this forum that make mention to bongos from S. America cracking when outside of their enviroment, but that is not issue. The issue is after contacting Alejandro SEVERAL times about my bongo begining to show signs of stave separation after 2 months, I got NO reply from him. He claims that his products are 100% guaranteed, but in my particular case he did not live up to his claims. Unfortunately he has a LOT to learn in regards to doing business in the U.S. His maracas are BEAUTIFUL, pero "no suenan". The guiros are awsome so are the claves, and the skins which are treated in cal to give them their white color are generally very nice. I work for a major music store and every percussionist I meet from Colombia says that 3A "no sirve". I have had better experiences with CP. Their bells are holding up ok even after a few months, both bongo and timbal, and a friend owns a TB bongo which sounds absolutely AMAZING. Its got some years on it, and my friend claims Ismael Cervantes made it exclusively for him. So put that under your hat, and be careful with your next purchase, if you can try to get a single piece. If anyone here wants to buy the bongo and knows how to make repairs on it let me know. It is not cracked yet but its showing signs of it. I will post pics in a few days as I am out of town right now. Anyhow I love the information and the topics here, and hope to contribute my knowledge and continue to learn with you guys.