Originally Posted by: bbzswa777I understand what you're saying about being able to sweep pick arpeggios, yet doing so isn't exactly going to make you stand out regarding creativity. But I'm so jealous of that ability! [/QUOTE]

I should have said my thoughts on sweeps are really applied to me. I never found them useful for me. I also think too many shredders of the 80's etc did them 'just because' ya know...it was cool to do. If you can do it like Jason Becker then it's a different story. A good sweep can be dramatic if done right and moreover, thematically.

[QUOTE=bbzswa777]But I spend a big chunk of my time developing my sweep picking ability, which is pretty much at square one right now. How long did it take you to develop this technique until you were happy with it?

I'm a guitar player, that never happens... ;)

Which is kinda true. I never really got to where I thought I was worth a darn but that is reflected in where I put my practicing focus.

With that said, I played a lot in those days and did lots of hand strengthening exercises for warm ups. By the time I started trying sweeps, I had already been playing solid for about 6 years anyway so it was just a leap from there. My comfort on the fretboard was already there so to do a recognizable sweep was a matter of maybe a couple of months.

...long enough to realize that the time I invested wasn't going to be worthwhile for me to master it.