Do I have a twisted neck?

[shadow]

I have a Stanley Clarke Deluxe that I purchase new in Nov. of 2014.
It's a great bass and came with the standard strings with a 105 E string. For a while, I used a light set with a 100 E string then went back to a standard set. I did the usual setup both times.
Lately, I have gotten a buzz on the E string and I had to raise the nut to get rid of it. Any time that I did a neck adjustment, I've turned both truss rods equally. My relief is .013. I'm not a luther but have done setups for years. Worried about the neck being twisted. Any advice about how to tell for sure and if I do have a twist, would be appreciated.i

[ed_too]

Hi - I don't know enough about necks to offer any help. I did see in your profile you're in NJ as I am. I noted a while back that a regular poster (Dannobasso) uses D'Angelo Guitars in Fairlawn and thinks highly of him. That's where I'm planning to bring my bass if I ever have a problem I can't deal with. (Haven't used him yet...knock wood).
http://www.dangeloguitars.com/Services.html
Good luck with it however you go.
Ed

[David Houck]

Hi Walter, welcome to the board!
 
Some of our members are really good at setups and describing adjustments; but I thought I would go ahead and ask at what fret you were getting a buzz.  Generally, you don't make a nut adjustment to address a buzz problem unless the buzz is in one of the first few frets closest to the nut.  Most adjustments are going to be truss rod adjustments, with bridge adjustments for buzzing closer to the end of the fingerboard.
 
I would also mention that on a still fairly new bass like yours, and on some not so new like mine, the neck will move with changes in humidity.  And depending on where you live, and the room your instrument is in, a winter like the one were having now can cause frequent movements in the neck.
 
My guess is that given the neck laminations on a five string Deluxe, it seems unlikely that the neck is twisted.  I would put the nut back to where it feels comfortable for your playing style, and then work with the truss rods and bridge to get the action where it plays and sounds good.
 
There are several posts in our section that address the subject of setups.  And I imagine some other folks will be along that can be a bit more helpful in directly addressing your particular issue.

[shadow]

Thanks ed_too for the info. I'll check him out.
 
Thanks davehouck. I get a buzz only on an open E string. As soon as I fret the buzz is gone. This leads me to the nut being too low which it should not be. I would guess that Alembic builds and sets the bass with the nut being all the way down in a null position.
 
 I like a low action.  I just remeasured my relief and it's .011. The bass plays great but it concerned me that when I got the bass the nut was at the lowest setting with no buzz and now I have to raise it up to get the action at the same feel.

[mica]

If you get a buzz on the open string only, try raising the nut on that side slightly. Don't forget to loosen the anchor screw in the middle first. You can always adjust the nut down again if it doesn't succeed (but I'm thinking it probably will!).

[shadow]

mica, that's what I did to solved the buzz. But why would I have to do that using the same gauge strings that came from Alembic ?
 
I thought that this adjustable nut was to compensate for using lighter gauge strings then what Alembic puts on the bass?
 
Maybe my worries are over nothing.

[keith_h]

Being such a new bass with the seasonal change in humidity makes me wonder if the fret has lifted a bit on the E string side. The other reason could be shrinkage of the neck woods being more than the ebony fretboard when the air dries out in the winter. For the first a gentle tap to reseat the fret would be in order. For the second raising the nut as you did would be the resolution.  
 
Keith

[shadow]

That's a good point keith_h. I'll try reseating the first few frets, put the nut back to it's null position and see whether that works.

[hifiguy]

What Keith said.
 
I bought a Clarke Signature Standard in spring of '99 and when cool, dry Minnesota fall rolled around the neck developed a horrifying bow that could in no way be remedied by truss rod adjustment.
 
In a panic I called Alembic and was immediately patched through to Mica.  She explained that humidity variances can cause things like this and that the wood isn't used to being a bass yet.  She told me to send the instrument back to the Mothership for a warranty-covered heat reset of the neck.  It came back in a better case, with fresh strings and the tools Guitar Center had lost before selling me the bass.  Played like a dream from then on and required only a 1/3 turn on each truss rod to deal with seasonal humidity fluctuations.
 
I think this might be your issue.

[manbass7]

FYI, an example of twisted neck
 
 

[hammer]

Great example. How'd it happen? It hurts to just look at that neck to the point where I think my own neck might need a good massage.

[bigredbass]

I'd think IF it's playing well across the board at .011 relief, that's about all you're going to get out of it unless you have exemplary technique and a light touch:  That's really low and almost straight.
 
I'd agree with walking your nut up a little at a time on that side, that it's buzzing only on the open string is the giveaway.
 
I also would not get too shook up until I tried several succeeding sets of strings and it always yielded the same result.  At this very tight clearance, anything can upset the apple cart, and until it's repeatable with several string changes, this is not a concern, but I'm sure a bit more height on the nut will fix this.  
 
Again, this is one more feature that makes these axes so controllable and user-friendly.
 
Joey

[5a_quilt_top]

May be a silly question, but have the frets been leveled and crowned?
 
With action that low, even slightly uneven frets can cause havoc.

[mica]

I would also use another new string. Sometimes, a defective string will cause many problems, and you wind up chasing all sorts of things around. If nothing else, it's an easy thing to at lease eliminate as the cause of a problem. I recently helped another club member via email on a single-string issue and it turned out to the the brand-new string. It happens.  
 
Joey is right of course!

[bigredbass]

You know, just for grins, you could unwind the E-string, turn the ball end over and tune back up and just see what happens.  Strings are a black art, and bass strings, with windings atop windings, can run you crazy chasing what you thought was an action-induced squeak.  That's why I've learned to live with needing a touch-up or tweak until it's new string time:  Once in a great while, just changing strings fixed it.  
 
Also, like I said above, once you get a bass action down around .011, it's like riding around in a car that's been lowered:  Even a little bump feels like a pothole.  In other words, it doesn't take much at all to induce something you may now want to hear, stuff can be off / out just a few thousandths, and you know it.  
 
That's why I always recommend tweaking action in playing position:  The weight of the axe on the neck in a laydown holder could bend it enough to alter your measurements, as we're only talking thousandths here.  Somebody like James at Alembic who sets them up laying down every day is a different case than the rest of us.
 
But since you have no 'fretted' complaints and it's buzzing open on the E (great, it's easier to chase the outside strings), that's the smoking gun that it's a hair too low either at the nut, over the last fret, or a little of both.  
 
Every bass will 'max out' slightly differently one to the next.  But generally if you're low enough to hear some string noise, etc., unplugged, but it's not coming thru the pickups, you've just about got all you're going to get.  
 
I'm framing the fabulous quote from the previous post . . . . . Thanks, MWT ! !
 
Joey