(I read like a batty child, so please understand that as you go through this message)

Sure, I've been playing acoustic and rhythm guitar for over 8 years. Yeah, I got strumming up and down mastered. But this very month I decided to join a venture with a friend of mine as an acoustic duo. And I'd have to be the one to play lead.

I'm not someone who plays lead guitar much; I'd learned how to play scales, and I have a generic idea of music theory. But, anyway, I can strum with the best of 'em, and I don't call myself a real guitarist because I'm just not a lead guy.

I hear lead players should play with thicker picks but I'm so used to thin and medium picks. One day I bought the orange Snarling Dogs (they happen to be my favourite brand right now) and I couldn't do a damn thing with them! I was thinking, "Well, I want a big sound, I should get big picks!" They're useless to me as a strummer.

I mean, what would you suggest for acoustic lead guitar playing? I'd have to do both lead and rhythm depending on the song and my skill level, so I'm looking for suggestions that would be, you know, a good balance. Like, right after playing that high part on "Ordinary World" I switch to strumming chords during the verse.