I was talking to a bass guitar builder today he was explaining to me

[FRANK]

that he uses the mandolin fret wire that it is much better for intonation i don't know personally but am asking if anyone has run acrossed this issue .my thought was i like jumbo wire what is your preference for wire

[Donald A. Fortune]

hey Paul-- I would say it is up to the one who is getting the bass-- I have made two customs so far and the first one was done with med frets and the second was fretless-- I guess ya just got to do the homework- be safe
Donald

[FRANK]

THANKS DONALD I WAS JUST THINKING GUITARS ARNT PERFECT SO MABY THE GUY USES SMALL FRET WIRE 1 IT IS EASIER TO USE AND 2 IT MAY BE CHEAPER TO BUY SMALLER WIRE BUY THE POUND?

[Paul Hostetter]

The effect of fret size (meaning height) on intonation is pretty hard to nail down. Assuming the frets are really in all the right places, good intonation is more a result of setup and playing technique.

If you were talking about a regular guitar, I'd be more doctrinaire about taller frets, which is grist for another discussion. A lot of bass players come from double bass, which means no frets. Minimal frets are like little hints of where the notes really belong, rather than absolute definers of where those notes should be. Years ago, Danny Ferrington built a bass for Don Was that was almost fretless. It had a smooth ebony board with almost imperceptible (low!) ebony frets. The effect was that it could be played almost as if it was fretless. Even slides way up the neck ended right on pitch, which was pretty sweet.

Donald's comment that it's really about what works for the player is spot on. It's about a player's playing style, not about the prejudices of the maker.