Two Quickies On Tone

Try it and see, you'll hear what they're talking about. I couldn't exactly put it into technical terms but... On my accoustic with fresh strings, picking near the bridge almost gives me a clean and twangy electric sound. It's sharper and brighter. I'ed describe picking farther away from the bridge to be the opposite. It sounds fuller and warmer, sorta glowy and not as sharp.

I find myself adjusting where I pick notes quite often to affect and adjust the tone of my playing.

1. Does let's say tuning your guitar done a half step on all your strings and then playing everything up bar (I guessed to achieve this you'd probably need to do barre chords) sound the same as if you had played them in the normal position without tuning down? Or does the string length/tension whatever affect this?

2. In the Fender Player's Club I believe there is a pdf on bass guitar (but I guess it would apply to all guitars) that says that playing near the neck adds treble while playing near the bridge adds bass. What exactly does this mean? Does it make the either the trebble or the bass louder like a natural eq? Or does it litterally raise or lower your pitch by a little bit?

Thanks :)

1. It would sound the same, yes. Tuning half a step down, and playing one fret (half a step) up would keep you even. I know it's not precisely accurate, but in my mind, when I tune down I think of it as "letting notes out" from the nut end of the guitar, and everything else moves up to accomodate. You shouldn't experience too much in the way of tuning or intonation problems when doing this, unless you're using a fully floating bridge, like a floyd rose or one of the many Ibanez variants.

2. I think you may have it backwards in your post, or it's a case of reality vs. ear perception, but playing near the bridge causes the notes to become clearer and brighter sounding. While I don't play much at the extremes, I use them for "effects" occasionally: doing a little sweep picking right at the bridge can give a really moody feel, especially over a minor sounding chord. Likewise, playing over the frets can often give you a washy chording effect. Experiment and enjoy!

Whoops, forgot to add one thing that helps a lot of people put it together: For question 2: This is why they put pickups in varying spots along a string's length: A pup near the bridge will have a clearer attack and will be brighter overall, while one nearer to the neck will transmit warmer sounds.