Problem with La Bella Flats

[pobrien_ie]

So I've had a set of La Bella "1954" 0760M flats at home for a while, and finally decided to try them out last night. The first 3 strings (E, A, D) went on without a hitch. When I was tightening the G, the nut cracked! The part under the groove just popped right off

I know they're high tension flats and all, but has anyone come across this before? What did I do wrong?

Any guidance welcome! Also, anyone know where to buy a 1.75" P Bass nut?

[Happy Jack]

I doubt you did anything wrong - file under "sh*t happens".

I have La Bella FLs on three Precisions just now, the youngest of which is early 70's, and I've never had a problem yet.

Your nut may have had a hairline crack in it, or a piece of grit may have been trapped under the string to produce a pressure point. In either of those cases, there'll be no evidence after the event for you to examine.

[chris_b]

That happened to me. The nut on my Precision split under the E string.

The string might have been slightly wider than the previous set, pushing the nut outwards, or it might have been a crappy bit of plastic (like mine).

If there isn't a spare nut somewhere on BC, I'd Google for a replacement.

[pobrien_ie]

Thanks for the replies. I just thought I may have done something wrong, as far some reason I had a bad feeling about putting the strings on. They're also the heaviest gauge I've ever used.

Re the nut, it's the 1.75" width which I can't seem to find anywhere online. I think I'll just email a Fender supplier quoting the part number and see how I get on.

Thanks again, Paddy.

[Conan]

Yeah, as suggested above. The G string is .52 in that set isn't it? That a big meaty string when most people are using .40-.45 gauge. Maybe just too much outward pressure on the nut.

If you are going to continue using those strings it might be worth a small amout of filing to slightly increase the size of the slot in the nut (when you get a new one, of course!).