Originally Posted by: bhagwanBasically lots of the 90s punk I love (Rancid, most of all) uses lots of palm muting with alternate picking on 16th notes at high tempo (140 to 160bpm).
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My problem is my pick gets caught on the up stroke. I can minimize this by choking way up on the pick and basically riding my fingers on the strings, making tiny movements. My problem is this is a really tight hand position that's not fluid.

Hey, Andy. It sounds like you might benefit from correcting two things.

1. Pick angle, as Slipin mentioned. :)
2. Most importantly, less tension in your arm, hand & fingers.

I cover building speed in this tutorial. It is more aimed at high notes, than low, but the same principles of mechanical technique still apply!

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=287

Hope this helps. Have fun!