Gurney, Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your beers, uh, make that EARS: No Gurney, I didn't misunderstand anything, I've been playing guitar for over 41 years and I know everybody is talking about changing the condition of the PICK, but my attempt at humour and satire was only to point out that these alterations may not be necessary if you have a good teacher who can get you past pick slipping issues. EVERYBODY has THEIR way of solving a problem, and playing the guitar. For me, tortex just doesn't cut it. Too dull. For somebody else, it works just fine.
All the fine folks reading this come from all over the world. Some are beginners, some are pros. When you meet your first great electric guitar player, you might be surprised, as I was, at how SOFT his attack is(with the amp turned off). Other people, a tribe I will respectfully refer to as the wacka-ja-wackas, think that playing the guitar means beating on it. Some to the point of actually wearing out the wood until there is a hole in the guitar! So, that pick is gonna slip. The guitar is an endless universe. which makes it magical. Almost anybody can pick it up, and with the guidance of a good teacher, be able to get those first chords going, then being able to change from chord to chord,,,we've all been through it. But then, you realize how deep the guitar really is. I see/hear somebody like Jennifer Batten and I say, My God! I knew a Tai Chi Master who called himself Lee Siu Pak. For 37 years, I always referred to him as Master/Mr. Lee or Lee Siu Pak. And after he passed away, I found out through the internet that Lee Sui Pak means "Lee of little knowledge" His face came to mind. He was always laughing and called me Bop, because he couldn't pronounce "Bob". He had given himself the name out of respect, humility, and realization that although he was a Master who had studied with the original members of the Yang Family, creators of the "Yang Style" Tai Chi, he would never be able to know all that is Tai Chi. He once drew a circle on a piece of paper, and then pointed at me and said, "this you cannot do." So right away the ego gets in the way and I'm thinking, "hey, I can draw a circle on a sheet of paper too..." But the years went by and as I progressed, I realized what he was trying to show me was that he drew the circle with internal power, his Chi. And the "this you cannot do" meant that I would never be able to draw HIS circle. I would have to draw my own. The guitar is like that. No matter how advanced you are, their is always somebody who can say, "this you cannot do..."
So. if drilling holes, sandpapering, taping, gluing, rubberizing, tortexing works for YOU. Keep doing it...You can bring a horse to water, but you can't make him drink...
bob