Hey folks.  Thinking of building a CBG bass and I have a question or 2. 

Does it matter what kind of magnetic pickup I put in it?  I mean is there one specific for basses?  Also, does the 3 or 4 string matter? 

Also do I have to use a hardtail bridge or can I use a tail piece with a floating bridge like most CBG's? 

thanks for the input.  I'm not a real experienced builder and I know nothing about basses.  But I want to built one. 

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Do think about string tention. That will depend 3 to 4 strings. Are you using nylon or steal strings? This comes into play with the pickup as well. Will it have frets?

I'm not sure I know the difference between nylon and steel strings.  Total beginner.  I'm assuming the nylon are for acoustic?  I want to go electric on this one.  And yes it will have frets

I'd say no on the pickup issue. If the strings are metal covered and the pickup is magnetic you are fine, I built a bass out an old strat copy, and kept the original pickups, does D0 (octave below standard bass E) just fine.

I have a video of a 2 string bass I made....though I didn't know what I was doing, so it may be of limited use, lol! However it's still in one piece and plays well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3IF12BZ-LA

A full 4 string bass has a fair amount of tension on the bridge as well as the neck joint because of its length. These 2 areas need to be strong.

Have no exp with floaters. Cant advise there. 

Any bass pickup will work. But choose wisely. Semore Dunkin is a industry standard. For simplicity and first build I would go with a P setup.

Yes there is a difference between bass & guitar pickups, cbgitty has an economical 3/4 string pickup that’s worth trying (black enclosed 4 pole pickup). You can use any kind of bridge you want, even a bolt? but if you want maximum control over action/ intonation then you’ll want a hard tail bridge. Really the only difference between bass & guitar is scale length & string size & obviously tone, so really you’re just building a guitar with a longer neck & bigger strings. 3 or 4 strings, preference really, but if you’re doing a 4 string,you’ll need a truss rod unless you’re going with weedwhacker strings. Hope I’ve helped, there’s gonna be plenty of experience chiming in soon. Good luck

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