Originally Posted by: Bruce JReally? I've only been playing a couple of years, but am surprised to see this recommendation. I should be hitting the string as hard as I can?

The problem for many players with picking is that their picking gets weaker and weaker the faster they play. This leads to a lot of problems like a lack of synchronisation between your hands for example.
Another thing is that it is essential for your soloing that every note can be heard as a single note (unless your are playing double stops or things like that) - good picking articulation is key for that!

David