Twisted neck?

[nikosss.b]

Hello all,

I have a 24 fret goncalo avles neck on a Black Korina body with a pau ferro fretboard. It's a 10-16 compound radius. I have been using 9-46 gauge strings since I first put it together 2 years ago. It's playing very well but has some fret buzz.
I was trying to see if the neck needs relief: I posted another thread about that and I got a reply. So I tried to get the most relief possible. The truss rod now is at its "loosest" position and the neck is pretty straight. I guess the wood is hard enough and the gauge is not helping.
I still have fret buzz but it's not that bad. I was wondering, could I have a twisted neck? I noticed that the gap between the fretboard and the body (this is an extension fretboard since it's a 24 fret neck) is smaller from the bass side than from the treble side. It's a very small difference but I was wondering if that's because the neck pocket is a bit angled or because the neck developed some twist? Is it possible that the 9-46 gauge is too light for the neck?
How can I reliably tell if my neck is twisted? I tried eye balling it, but I can't seem to be able to tell if there's something wrong with it. I wasn't even able to tell if it has a slight bow – that's why I loosened the tross rod in the first place.

Any help is appreciated

 

[stratamania]

I saw your other thread too. The gauge of your strings is a red herring,  in other words a variable that you don't need to consider.

A neck doesn't twist due to string gauge, and if it is twisted you probably would experience a lot more than it playing very well but has some fret buzz.

Might I suggest that you find a tech to help you. It probably just needs a set up and probably a little fret work.

 

[nikosss.b]

Alright thanks! I'll take it to a tech to check it out

 

[musicispeace]

Agreed. I recently got a proper set up on one of my parts guitars and it resolved my concerns.

 

[nikosss.b]

Yeah I will take it to a tech, it was just feeling a bit weird when looking at it from the headstock.

 

[Day-mun]

Yep. the compound radius can create the illusion of a twist. Your neck is probably dead-straight, but your eye will lie and say it isn't. If you have had hit-n-miss luck with doing your own adjustments, but don't want to give up the d.i.y. spirit, may I suggest this book from StewMac's spokesman, Dan Erlewine:

-Contains a great step-by-step set-up method that takes the guesswork out of the process.

 

[nikosss.b]

Thank you Day-mun, I also read that compound radius gives the illusion of a twisted neck. I will definitely check out this book!

 

[stratamania]

Do you have tools, such as straight edges etc, the reason I recommended going to a tech is that you might have a bit of a learning curve and may not have the tools etc.

Not to say these skills can't be learnt because of course they can.

 

[nikosss.b]

Well I just had the frets leveled and re-crowned. 7 Frets were higher than the rest. So that's that. I can say the buzzing has decreased but still there on some frets. Anyway, I spent too much stressing about it that it's not fun anymore I guess i'm being to nitty gritty. I guess my only problem is that the wood is not giving enough relief: it's a very hard wood. The truss rod is at the loosest position and there's still no "business card" gap between the 12th fret and the fretboard.
The problem is that I moved out of my country where the luthier who built my guitar is located. Once I'm back I'll take it to him. Meanwhile I'll just play it and hope the neck gets better with time. I could try to string it with 13's and let it settle but I don't have another guitar to play right now.

Attached Irene for reference

 

[Cagey]

Putting heavy strings on in the hope they will cure a bent neck is an exercise in futility. But, you may be able to re-curve the neck pretty easily if you're feeling adventurous. I wrote up a brief "how to bend necks" series of posts that works quite well. Check it out.

 

[nikosss.b]

Yeah I've seen that post a while ago. I don't think I'll do that anytime soon but I like the idea, nicely written.

 

[musicispeace]

Hey guys, any possibility it is a bridge height or bridge set up issue, neck angle to bridge, or nut issue? It's just that a neck twisting seems such a rare occurrence but I know it does happen.

 

[Day-mun]

that is why I suggested going through an organized set-up regimen in order to fix such problems first, before scooting it off to a tech or strapping it to a jig with heat-lamps or something crazy.

 

[stratamania]

Agreed it needs to be worked through methodically. It's definitely worth the OP finding out the information and possibly learning it on a couple of cheaper guitars that don't matter.

But it seems to me that if a job is beyond someone's current skill that getting help from a good tech may well be worthwhile. Not all techs are created equal of course.

 

[nikosss.b]

Yeah I agree! I do have the patience and appetite to learn that, coming from an engineering background and having done many pickup swaps in the past. I also understand everything about the neck relief and action but it seems this wood is stubborn. However, as mentioned, I am not ready to put my guitar in an oven, not yet
The tech back at my home town was the best ever! So I'll take it to him when I'm back home  :icon_thumright:

 

[musicispeace]

Sounds good if you have someone in mind who you trust and know is highly competent on detail areas like this. its funny how sometimes it may be one thing that throws the whole deal out of whack. But I am hoping it isn't actually a twisted neck.