Truss Rod or Saddle?

Hi all,

I'm brand new to playing bass guitar and I don't know much about guitars just yet. I purchased a new bass, an Ibanez SR300, that has a bolt-on neck. The low e string has a awful buzz which gradually dissipates until quitting after the 5th fret or so. The first fret is all buzz and practically no note. I've had varying advice, some telling me to adjust the truss rod and others telling me to raise the action on the low e string via the saddle. I tried the saddle adjustment, gradually raising the action until having turned each screw by close to 180 degrees to the right, until the buzz had all but gone. I figured it was safer to do that than to alter the truss rod and mess it up.

Will the adjustment I made on the saddle warp the neck somehow because I altered the saddle and not the truss rod? I don't know too much about it, but it occurred to me that with raising the action and string tunings, it could damage the neck, maybe? I was so afraid to damage it that I put the saddle screws back where they had been before I started touching them just in case. All of the other strings are fine, the action is great, but the low e string makes playing impossible because it buzzes so much and I'm totally stuck.

If anybody could shed any light on it, I'd be so grateful to hear from you.

Thanks guys,

Nick