Ah. There's a valuable clue there. You said the "pick gets all tangled up". So I'm wondering about something.
I saw your Strumstick Mandola video (cool instrument, by the way) where you're using almost entirely downstrokes only.
So I went back and looked at the mandolin video again, I can't quite tell what notes you're playing, but I slowed the video down to half-speed and it does in fact look like you're probably using mostly only downstrokes there too.
Now. Generally speaking, *if* you're using only downstrokes on mandolin, that makes the hand move twice as far to get the same number of notes...
So it wouldn't be surprising to get the pick tangled up when trying to "play harder" because you're already working harder than necessary.
Especially when playing fiddle tunes where there are 'more' notes to start with, so efficiency of picking-hand motion is important.
So, a solution to that pick-tangling, is to play alternate pick strokes, up-down-up-down-up-down (approximately, vary as needed) throughout the tune. That way the hand does half as much work for the same amount of notes (sort of). It's easier once you get used to it.
Please don't shoot me. I'm not trying to criticize, rather just an observation that there might be an easier way to play that makes it easier for you to pick all the notes. I hate seeing people struggle with something when there's an easier way. I'd definitely recommend finding a teacher of some sort who can see up-close what you're doing, that way they'll have a more accurate idea of what the situation is and what to suggest.
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(I know you didn't ask about pick direction, you asked about volume, but when you mentioned the pick getting tangled up when you tried to play harder, I thought there might be some correlation.)
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