Re: Pick thickness?
To my mind it's a question of the mechanics of picking a double-course instrument and getting good tone. It takes a few steps, so bear with me...
If you hold a pick firmly when picking the mandolin, it tends to catch on the top string of a course (generally the wound strings, but the unwound as well to some extent) and then the pick doesn't drive cleanly through both strings, leading to an undesirable tone and often uneven rhythm. A loose pick grip lets it strike both strings in a course cleanly.
If you hold a thinner pick loosely, however, you lose volume, and if you go really thin, you the pick may not drive through both strings. A thicker pick gripped loosely can get through both strings and also get enough vibration going to generate good volume.
That's my experience, at least.
"Pick it solid, boys." -Claude Debussy
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