I'm probably the only person I'll ever meet that does this... but does anybody else hold their pick with their thumb and middle finger as opposed to their thumb the index finger? Are the any inherent advantages/disadvantages to using your middle finger instead of your thumb?
I've always used my middle finger because a very proficient guitarist I knew when I was staring off told me that I could use either finger, and that I should choose whichever feels more natural. I chose the middle finger because it felt right and I always seem to do things a little differently than most by nature. The guy who said that fucking SHREDS too, he's gotta be the cleanest and most skilled guitarist I know. He's been playing for like 15 years now, so he's got plenty of experience. I wish I had some clips of this guy, he's got some mind blowing talent. I always wondered what he was doing not getting himself out there. There's no reason for me not to take his advice.
When I first started really refining my picking technique(about 2 years into playing), I ran into a little trouble with string skipping and fast down picking, but it was just a little extra time I had to spend with the metronome refining my movements. I'm still not as good as other players at down picking, even if my alternate picking is miles ahead of theirs. I just alternate pick more to compensate, it's a challenge getting the rhythm right on some riffs, but it sounds just as heavy and much cleaner. The only difference I notice is int the angle of my pick, it's not as vertical. I get a good enough slant that as long as I relax my hand completely, it works just as well. If anything, it forces me to minimize my hand motions a bit more--which is a good thing since minimal hand movement is a requirement to play quickly and cleanly. It makes tapping easy too, I don't have to switch fingers at all.
Is there anything wrong with using my middle finger though? I've been told that I might run into some problems if I ever attempt sweep picking.

First, the song:
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_songI...;songID=6860611
It might not be up your alley, admittingly the styling is a little different from my norm and I'm still trying to get used to it myself. My leads aren't that great, and neither is the solo, but at least I'm trying. It's not complete, there need to be mixing changes, and I need to find a keyboard to record with, mine's a piece of shit. I had to sequence the keys because my KB is so old it doesn't even have a line out. The part at the end with no drums will have drums, I just haven't come up with anything yet. I wrote lyrics too, I don't know if they're any good. I've never written lyrics before, so if they sound gay, oh well. They'll be growled btw.

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_songI...;songID=6845397
What do you all think? Yes I know I'm sloppy, and yes I know the solo isn't too impressive, fuck off

I bet this gets asked a lot... but a search didn't help me much.
I've had my Ibanez RG2 EX2 for about a year, I originally bought it for the white finish with the black trim(and the fact that it's an Ibanez .) When I took it home and played it for a while, I realized that the pickups suck. They are 'designed by EMG', and its true they have the same lack of dynamics of EMG's, but with the bonus of a really weak sound. They don't go well with my Line 6 Spider II stack at all.
I wanna go with Dimarzio pickups since they sounded amazing in my RG321 that I shouldn't have sold
I'm thinking I'll put an X2N in the bridge since the only bad reviews I've ever seen it get are from people using a shitty setup. The samples on the website sound pretty good too. The X2N is loud, punchy, searing, crunchy, and crystal clear. It's just what I want for recording.
I don't know what I want to put in the neck though, something with a little bit of bite, but warmth as well. I usually just use the neck for the occasional solo or clean bit, it needs to be clear with the gain up but still pretty-sounding when I play clean. I want to put in a Dimarzio in the neck too, but if a Seymour Duncan does the job better, then so be it.
The RG2 EX2 has a basswood body btw.