Great posts, all. Man, am I learning new stuff here!

Just one thing, I originally asked about "pickology" from the perspective of controlling the pick. A couple of the posts mention better *tone* in connection with certain brands of pick. How does this work? I thought tone was exclusively a function of guitar materials and design, string materials, how freely the guitar can vibrate (i.e., whether you clamp down on the bridge or pick guard with the picking hand or just touch it lightly, or whether you hold the instrument right up against your body while playing), and how you attack the notes. Are you saying that pick composition and pick shape directly affect *tone*?

--Finn