Hi Fretsmith... a few years back I switched my pick grip... there's the "normal" way of gripping it... as if you're trying to catch a fly between your thumb and first finger. That's the way I played for a long time. Then I noticed that almost all of the players I liked held their pick quite differently. Take your hand, stretch it out like you're going to do a karate chop. Keeping your thumb straight, curl your fingers so they make a "half fist", making the middle knuckles of your fingers most forward. Now, clamp the pick between your thumb and first finger. The other fingers also support your first finger, but can be used for hybrid picking as well.

This seems to be the most common grip that advanced players use, but there are still plenty that don't. Eddie Van Halen doesn't use this type of grip. It took a bit to get used to, but I really like it now, and there are some distinct advantages to it.

Sgt Tee, yeah, I find the Lexan weird also. I saw an interview with Steve Vai that made me feel better, because he said the one thing he was really finicky about was his guitar pick... if he didn't have the right one, he just couldn't get used to it. So far, I'm just sticking with the Yellow Dunlops... its got the right feel for me, but like Fretsmith, I have a little dish filled with various picks... (and then a couple of packs of the yellow ones! :) ).