strings popping out the nut when detuned

[monkeyhanger123]

i recently bought a fender jazz aerodyne bass, which by the way is fantastic in every way. when i bought it, it was set up beautifully in standard. However i am in a couple of bands and in one of them, i detune to drop Db. This is fine, it still sounds and plays great, but i played a show not so long ago and while i was on stage i kept having to push the bottom two strings back into the nut as they kept popping out, which was massively frustrating. i know i was playing harder than i usually would, but i have never had this problem on any of my previous basses.

what is the best way to remedy this??

ive been recomended, sanding the nut down a bit - but i thought that may lead to buzz on the frets and make the intonation go out. i dont know...
ive also been recomended to get a new set of heavier strings.

any suggestions would be gratefully received.

cheers

[AmadeusXeno]

Heavier strings is probably your best choice. Fender basses have a flat head stock which doesn't put as much tension over the nut as an angled head stock. The only other thing I can think of that might help is getting the bar thing (forgot exactly what it's called) that holds down all 4 strings. It goes between the nut and tuners. For an example look at the Fender Steve Bailey signature model. Hope this helps.

[T-Bird]

Hi.

Welcome to TalkBass monkeyhanger123.

Heavier strings is always the logical remedy when detuning causes any issues, but a string tree will help as well.

Regards
Sam

[knuckle_head]

If you intend to switch between standard and dropped on the low string only I'd suggest selecting a gauge that is appropriate for Eb/D# or D.

This way you aren't horribly loose at Db nor too tight at E and you are likely to have that string remain seated in that nut slot as well.

I like .112 for D - if you are aiming at Db a .115 would be good. To switch between E and Db you might want to consider a .110 or so.

If you are retuning the entire set you'd need to split the difference on each of your strings.

[LJ Michaaels]

Originally Posted by AmadeusXeno

Heavier strings is probably your best choice. Fender basses have a flat head stock which doesn't put as much tension over the nut as an angled head stock. The only other thing I can think of that might help is getting the bar thing (forgot exactly what it's called) that holds down all 4 strings. It goes between the nut and tuners. For an example look at the Fender Steve Bailey signature model. Hope this helps.

That bar thing is call a string tree, might help, cheap to try, couldn't hurt.