Hello! I play a 5 string fender jazz bass but cannot get the bottom string to behave. The saddle wont go any further back on that B string and yet the string still gets sharp past the 7th fret. The strings on it at the mo are nickel round wound heavy gauge (50 - 125 I think, the bottom string is not any heavier than regular 5 string set's bottom string would be though, could heavier G - E strings affect the bottom B strings intonation?) and when I got the bass it had regular guage strings on it and I didnt notice any problems, I think the heavy strings have upset it a bit over time since I put them on 4 months ago. I have heard that the gauge of string affects intonation, I was wondering if any of you encountered heavy gauge strings causing intonation problems? I have tried all the other things I can think of, string heights, even tweaked the truss rod etc to get it set up perfectly and its lovely but that bottom string just wont cooperate! :rollno:
Please share your intonation experiences with me, I hope someone else out there has been through this and can confirm my wonderings before I go out, buy new strings and set it up all over again! :help:
Thank you :)

You may have a bad B string... I don't think I've ever tried a set of strings that would not intonate... That being said, I generally opt for a .125 low B. Maybe try another B string of the same gauge, brand and model and see if it works before making a complete setup change.

Peace!

Sorry if this is a little late but...I have definitely had basses run out of adjustment. I have been able to fix it by using different string gauges. I believe a slightly smaller gauge will go flatter as you go up the neck. I am working on a bass right now that required me to move the bridge. But, I used a reg. scale neck on a long scale body. Try a thinner b string. GL