Frets and Intonation

[psaylorssi]

I recently finished my first "Parts-caster," and I love this guitar. I have a heck of a problem with intonation, though, and am wondering what role, if any, frets play in the equation. Specifically, if the frets have not been properly dressed will it affect intonation? I've looked at the link on the Fender.com site (on setups) and will carefully recheck that. Just curious whether I need to look closely at the frets as well.

I'm pretty new to the forum, and look forward to hearing from the experts.

THANKS!!!

[TexBiker]

Intonation is primarily a function of string length, so I don't think the frets could have any bearing.

[Oldboy]

Under normal conditions, even undressed frets should not cause a problem.A common thing that causes problems when intonating is that you have the pickups set too close to the strings.You get what is refered to as "wolf tones". Strat pickups are very height sensitive and you will get false readings on your tuner if they are set too high. Try lowering the pickups and see if it makes a difference.

[Phat-O-Caster]

There's a possibility that if the bridge wasn't placed correctly to match the scale of the neck you could sure have some intonation problems. A quick check with a tape measure should show the same distance measuring from the bridge to 12 fret as from the nut to the 12th fret-should be 12 3/4" on a strat. That checked I'd make sure the nut isn't binding and put on some fresh strings.

[psaylorssi]

Thanks everyone for your input. I will be sure to check the scale length and pickup height, as well as the other things mentioned in the Fender setup guide. I found Oldboy's comment especially interesting, in that I perceive changes in intonation when I switch from one pickup to another. I thought I was imagining it, but perhaps not.

[Offshore Angler]

Frets - no.
Nut - yes.

The nuts on MIM necks are notorious. If that's what you used I would start there.