arcos brasil bows

levifly · #1 11-23-2008, 05:48 AM

I have been sporadically looking to upgrade my bow. The repair shop that very excellently replaced a broken neck on my bass (Pasewicz String INstrument, Inc) is sponsoring a bow event presenting a large variety of bows by Arcos Brasil. Are any of you familiar with this bow company and the quality of their bows? The US distributor seems to be out of Tempe AZ. Thanks in advance for your help. Mike

Eli_Upright12 · #2 11-23-2008, 08:22 AM

These bows are awesome, I just bought one and I am so pleased. I was looking in the range of $1500-2000 and I ended up buying a bow that was $725. It out played every other bow I had sent to me. Its pretty light, probably about 132 grams and is pretty well weighted I can play from tip to from with ease. Its a pretty long bow at least compared to what I'm used to, but that hasn't seemed to bother me. Part of the reason I like it so much is that it is very loud and pretty bright. This is especially good on my bass that is very dark and kind of muffled. The other I noticed is that the bow has incredible attack, that is to say as soon as the bow moves the bass makes a sound. This opens up a wide variety of bow strokes and give a great punch to any short stroke. I really love my bow and for anyone looking in the student level price range these are really a steal in my mind.

Stan Haskins · #3 11-23-2008, 09:32 AM

AFAIK, Arcos bows are the ones stamped "D. Muniz Brasil", right?
Here's a recent thread:

I played about five of these bows, priced between $600 and $1000. Very good bows, IMHO

levifly · #4 11-23-2008, 05:02 PM

Thanks for the replys. I don't know how they are stamped but look forward to trying them out. I'll let you know my opinion of them after Dec. 5 or 6.. Thats the date of the showing. Mike

levifly · #5 11-24-2008, 07:14 AM

After doing some more investigation on Arcos Brasil bows I find that the individual bow maker is stamped on the bow followed by the brasil stamp. Therefore D. Muniz is the actual bow maker for the Brasil company. I would be interested if anyone has a bow stamped by a different bow maker and how well they like that bow

I also understand that certain makers for Brasil have been sent to Europe for special training to make their higher quality bows. I would be interested in which specific makers have had that training. I may be over investigating this but I find it extremely interesting.

I also found out that Brazil is the only source for Permambucco wood which makes these companies an excellent source for bows.

Also making bows in Brazil are Marco Raposo and Water Violet. All of these bow makers can be traced back to Horst John and in fact all worked together for that company in their beginning. I got this info off a violin site so I don't know if all make bass bows. Can any one add to this saga? Mike

Bass Barrister · #6 11-24-2008, 11:32 AM

I have tried several bass bows from Arcos and was impressed with the overall quality. I own a cello bow made by F. Schaeffer, one of the Special Edition bows from AB. It's a gantastic bow and, at $1500, was a great value.

robthorsen · #7 11-26-2008, 12:09 PM

I have a Marco Raposo german bow and love it- It was around $900 3-4 years ago at LA Bassworks- great bow!

levifly · #8 12-02-2008, 05:48 AM

any one else have any opinions or information. The event is this weekend and I will report back. Mike

Sippy · #9 12-03-2008, 10:12 PM

Brasil bows are in my opinion a bassist's best kept secret. Marco Raposo, Arco, I can't remember the other company (Water velvet? velvet water? something like that and Horst John) are fantastic bows!
I came into some money a few years back and decided it was time for a new bow... I flew all over the country (ended up spending a fortune) to try out people's personal bows they were selling Old italian bows, bows from the more famous current bowmakers ranging from 3k-7k.
I'm a bow fanatic and love the history and culture of bowmakers and was researching about Horst John. I found the story and company very interesting so I looked said "meh" and ordered 7 Horst John bows to try out and my God.. I couldn't choose between 3 of them, and all 3 out played the others that I had tried out previously. I chose the smaller of the 3 (they tend to be longer bows as mentioned earlier) and It cost me $775 total. Greatest day in my bass playing life.
Sounds silly to say that? There is nothing in this world, like when you pick up an bow, play it, and say "Yes, this feels like I was born with it in my hand, and yes, my bass agrees."
I REALLY hope you have good luck with it, and i'm sorry to ramble on; but in short yes. I've had great luck with Brasil bowmakers.

levifly · #10 12-08-2008, 06:45 AM

I went to the bow event Sat. They had Three German bow for me to try. Two in the $700 range and one in the $1400 range. The two less expensive were 130 gms. and some what shorter than the more expensive one. The other was 138 gms and about two inches longer

All three bows were well made and looked to be out of fine permambucco wood. However none of them seemed to be a significant improvement over the bow I am using now. Therefore I did not purchase one. I took them to a friend of mine that plays in the NC Symphony and He agreed with my assessment.

IN conclusion the bows were excellent bows for the money but did not offer the improvement over the bow I now have that I sought. That wasn't a very good sentence but I hope you know what I mean. Mike