For a long time I got into heavier and heavier picks...finally those purple 1.14mm suckers. Because of course they go where you point 'em without any flopping around. Which seems to be what you want

My friend James Stephens was recording me and didn't like the way they sounded--he pointed out that super-heavy picks tend to dig into the strings and create an unattractive sound that way. In fact, you can lose them in there if you dig too hard!

So I back-pedalled, one gauge at a time. I now pretty much exclusively use Jim Dunlop .73mm tortex--the yellow ones. For me, a happy medium. Just enough strength and just enough flex.

I noticed around St Pats Day when I was playing a whole helluva lot, mostly mandolin, that they wear down from pointy to round pretty quick under that kind of use. C'est la vie. It's gotta be yellow.

Alaska-piks are very nifty and I made a point of picking some up whenever in the States for several years. For some reason I got out of the habit--probably cause I'm mostly playing with bands now and not fingerpicking at all.

W-O