Originally Posted by: markc2005could it be that the frets have cracked?

Not very likely. But sometimes when frets are made a few get cut against the grain. Just like wood, metal has a molecular grain to it. Unlike wood though, the grain in metal is much more compact and it doesn't run the same direction throughout the entire sheet of metal. As the metal is forged and it cools the grain is more of a swirl. And sometimes the fret wire is cut so the grain is runnin perfectly across the fret (the way the strings would) rather then along the fret (parallel to) it can cause chunks of fret wire to get pulled out whe you bend or something in that specific spot. Especially if they weren't properly crownd when they were installed. I've had it happen to my American made Stratocaster. I simply took my crowning file and recrowned my frets. I don't suggest that you do that, it's a pretty hard project to tackle and you could potentially ruin the fretboard. But I do suggest that you take it to a tech and have them crown your frets for you. Or, you can just play it like it is and it will eventually go away as the metal continues to wear. I can reassure you that it has nothing to do with tapping.