Les,

Sorry, my fault for using obscure abbreviations. Arco and pizz are what is normally written on the music to indicate "with the bow" or "plucked".

Lots of European traditional bass players use the bow almost all the time. I saw an Italian group at a festival this summer with a 3-string bass player using a very short bow. He must have had some really good rosin as he was sawing away and producing an amazing percussive sound.

Mitch