Yo gmc,
I wondering if I have picked up some bad picking habits. One of the first things I remembered from Kris' first DVDs and vids was something he said about always using some sort of consitent picking so, either do all down picking, or do all alrernate pick or whatever, I got the impression that hybrid picking was bad (controversial probably). Since then I tried use alternate picking for everything...
When playing runs pretty much anywhere on the fret board I naturally do strict alternate picking, at least for solo stuff I think this is a good thing. By alternate picking I mean that regardless of the rhythm and interval between notes, the sequence is always down up down up. But now the strange part, I recently realised I have been doing some weird things when it comes to single note rhythm playing up at the nut end of the neck. where there are other priorities like wanting always down pick the big E.
Example. A rhythm with alot of big E bass line, and then a few other note on the D and A strings. I tend to down pick all the Es, and then when there is a transitiion from the E string to another string I extend the down stroke of the last E so that my pick is past the next string (say the A string) and then the next A will be up-picked and then that stroke is continued up past the E so I can down pick the E again. There is something about this in technique that feels right and creates a fluid right hand motion. But this is surely wrong in some sense.
If we take for example Gabriel's rhythm work here
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/rhythm-gu...ani-style-rock/, he does I think strict down picking except when the rhythm double times and then it is strict alternate until it goes back to normal rhythm again. So in a sense the way the string is picked is mirroring the rhythm i.e. all normal notes are down picked but if there is a half note interval between 2 notes they are always alternate picked.
So, should I continue with strict alternate picking for solo/melody stuff and try to use something more like Gabriels technique for rythym? What are the downside to what I am doing and is it a habit I should get out of?