tremolo picking on e string

[Twitch]

Chords just need a looser grip on the pick, let the strings win over the pick. Higher strings will sound more full if you move more towards the neck, over the bridge pup. Yes, it will seem like the pick is barely touching the strings because it is, you can dig in a little more if you like. Play like you mean it, be a little heavy handed when the time dictates. Sometimes I find find when getting heavy handed with my down picking, I find that my nail on my index finger hits the strings first, dont know what thats about but Ive read Hetfield has that "issue" as well. As far as your left hand goes, your fingers move so fast that they really arent hitting the frets real hard. This isnt a bad thing, as long as the notes are clear. If theyre not, either your fingers arent hitting hard enough as they need to and/or your action is too high.

Another tip to beat the burning in your arm and an all around must be for playing live, STAND UP AND PLAY as often as possible, and not with the guitar hung at your chest. Granted the Beatle stance as I call it resolves the transition from practicing sitting to standing to play live, but youll still find your arm still cramps because your using extra energy to hold it up and it just looks silly. Take a moment some time, and play what youve been practicing, whatever it may be, standing up with you guitar hung anywhere from your nuts to your belt line, which ever is most comfortable for you. $1 says your most practiced piece will be flawed at best. Practice standing up for about a week, NEVER SITTING, and youll find that not only will you be playing as tight as you were sitting, but youll find the stamina in you arm has improved as youll be using gravity to your advantage. Me, I usually have my belt buckle about dead center in the back of my guitar(though My belt line is my hips, not my waist), a little higher or lower depending on the guitar. My Kelly has to be a bit lower because I dont like the massive body in my ribs and the tail in the back of my arm.

[Cliff]

Thanks Twitch - great advice, really appreciate it.
I used to play with my guitar Beatle-stance, and you're right, it does looks silly - especially with a Jackson .
So now I'm playing standing up with the guitar slung low, and I owe you a dollar. But it actually, it's not as bad as I expected. Some stretches I just can't quite manage standing up, but mostly it's okay. A nice side benefit is that, standing up, I tend to move more with the music and stay in time better - a big issue for me.
Now I'm finding my left hand is the one needing practice. I've been trying to better control my hand and wrist position, something a bit like a classical position, playing scales with three notes per string but in 16ths, the idea being that I have to switch strings independently of the beat, if you see what I mean. Anyway, to play this remotely cleanly and evenly, I'm finding I have to back the speed down to around 80bpm, which is pretty frustrating. But after trying to play it faster for quite some time and realising it's not quite coming together, I figure slow but sure is the only way to go.

[Twitch]

Speed will come. You may seem slow now but the more you practice, the faster youll become. As far as the far stretches, when you know youre coming to those parts bring the headstock of you guitar closer to you head so the neck is at a better angle for your hand, or if just for a solo part, prop the guitar up on you knee for the solo and bring it back down for the rest of the songs. I dont have so much of a problem with this but on rare occasions as my fingers are rather long and have quite a wide spread. I only ever use my pinky for 3 or 4 fret reaches. Good luck, sounds like youre coming along. Im not too keen on fast alternate picking between strings myself until I get warmed up after 20 minutes or so of alternate picking rhythms.

[Cliff]

Yeah, I feel like I'm making more progress now than I have done in a long time, thanks in no small part to your advice. You rock!