muted frets?

[IconBasser]

well, here goes..

I bought a Carvin Icon about a year ago, and I've got a couple frets that are 'dead'. Not meaning that they buzz, but the have zero sustain. I counted. a regular fret got to about 40 seconds of sustain, the dead ones have about 3 seconds. So... whats up? It sounds like they are muted by something.

Oh, one more thing: they are only on the g-string. Yes, I changed out the strings a couple times, no solution. This leads me to think it may be a tuner or saddle issue.

[IconBasser]

anyone?.. at all?

[BassikLee]

You found the classic "dead spot".

[IconBasser]

... translation?

[PilbaraBass]

dead spot...

sound travels in waves...waves have certain lengths...sympathetic vibrations of your bass cause these waves to cancel each other out at certain frequencies along certain positions of the neck...

result...spots that don't "ring" as long...because these waves interfere with the natural standing wave of the vibrating string...

some solutions include giving your trussrod a tiny bit of a tighten to "firm up" what's shaking...

sometimes a different mass string may help...

but if you're experiencing problems on multiple strings on the same frets, it could also be that you have some frets that aren't seated quite right...

EDIT:

i reread your post...you've ruled out the strings...sounds like a dead spot for sure...
give the trussy a tweak, see if it helps...
gentle tapping with a hard instrument on all the frets will reveal this, because loose frets will have a duller "thud" rather than a sharp "clack" when struck...

also, if this problem is new, it could be the strings require a change...