I don’t know how a guy is supposed to pick fast and make it sound smooth. It’s like physics and mechanics are involved. How do you get one object (a pick) go through another object (a string) and make it be smooth on both the downstroke and upstroke?
If I could do this it would feel better and the resulting sound would be better.
You can make your pick rigid or flexible, and you can barely touch or have a big impact; the choice is yours.
Well to be honest I have always preferred to pick with a thin pick, thin and flexible. I have an easier time getting through the strings that way.
Problem is though that if I try to pick real fast it can get kind of sloppy feeling.
That’s probably why most of the time they are not recommended.
A lot of monsters use(d) a thin pick, including EVH and Paul Gilbert. I’m not sure what PG is using these days, but I think it is really thin, see this article.
Don’t look to me as an example for anything, but I have a very stiff Dunlop 2.0mm Flow (in Ultem, a very rigid plastic), and I try to skim the top of the string and barely perturb it, so the impact is actually really mild. However, digging deeper, this pick would be a mess.
I think that you can either impact with less depth or have a more flexible pick, the choice is yours… and I’m sure that others will opine.
By the way, what are you using as a pick? You didn’t say. Also, as always, post a video and I’m sure some experts will review it.
Been using a red Dunlop Jazz III for quite a while now. The real truth though is I simply cannot speed pick. Notes do not sound articulate, they don’t sound smooth, they sound messy and jerky and unsmooth no matter what pick I’m using.
Speed picking is very, very hard I have found out.
Why not get a variety pack that includes things like this?
Video!
You are treating the symptom and not the cause. You should experiment with your setup and the way your pick is angled until you barely even notice that you are passing through the string, it should be super smooth and easy, any amount of resistance will just contribute to slowing you down.
It also sounds like you may not have a fast motion yet as it should not be hard at all, the reason it looks effortless for pros because it is, you just have to learn the right way to do it. Try following some of the motion tutorials and experimenting at high speeds and see if you can discover something that is fast and easy, 170bpm 16ths bare minimum 
I’m dubious. I have spent a lot of time practicing and experimenting and I still can’t pick fast and make it sound not choppy.
Don’t know what else to try. I hold my pick at an angle to the string already.
I guess I will experiment some more.
Let me suggest two things for you to try:
I think that you’ve tried a lot of things by yourself, and you’re clearly not happy, so why not get help?
Cannot afford a great teacher. It would cost too much. I don’t have an amp but perhaps Hannah can film me.
Maybe she can also take a few photos of me holding the pick to make sure I’m holding it correctly (but I don’t think I’m not holding it correctly).
You don’t have an amp??
For what my experiance is worth mostly practicing unammped, and also using amps in collage n uni, you can smooth out a hell of a lot of attack with a good amp, even one with no effects, you can take the trebble down n bass up, that covers a lot.
Add effects in there and it is almost like playing butter, an amp can do wonders for your playing sound, both good n bad depending on that you want.
The one thing as always, record a video. Will show more than you can explain in text.
Some of the worst experiences I had at uni were when I had to go on after another band and play without having any time setting the amp on stage up. Sounded like shit because I Didn’t get to set the amp to my playing.
Horrible experience, great lesson.
An amp can be crafted to your playing.
Also, for quite cheap you can have amazing players giving lessons with a ctc sub
This to me is a good example of amp vs pick.
You can here the pick slapping n snapping, but the tones out the amp are pretty smooth.
I don’t use an amp when I practice or record. I use my POD X3 which works way better for practicing and recording than an amp.
I did have a Marshall DSL5 but I sold it because I didn’t like the sound of it.
If I was to buy an amp it may be the Marshall Code 25.
I’ve never used that, are you able to alter the treble n bass?
Beside that concept what others have said about picks n pick angle should help.
But you say “choppy” do you mean the quality of sound or the rythem of sound.
Eitherway, both are legit.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ljkoRGiI76Q
Sloppy, tight, harsh, smooth, all work
Perfect! Have her take photos and post those, and then her film and post that, too.
Best thing we can do without video is to link this free resource 
I changed my pick angle a lot. I tried placing it at a right angle to the string and it seems to be working. Placing it at a 45 degree angle does not work, at least not for me. But placing it at almost a right angle seems to make the pick slide through the string easier on both the downstroke and the upstroke.
If you mean that the long axis of the pick is normal to the string: You really have no choice but to do that, otherwise upstrokes and downstrokes are not symmetrical (they will sound and feel different).
Why did it take you so long to realize this? I still am fearful that you might have other issues that could be easily fixed if someone looked at the video.
I followed the advice of what I saw or heard, that is place your pick at about a 45 degree angle to the string. Even Chris Brooks in his book he has an illustration of the pick angle. It is not a right angle. He shows just about 40 or 45 degrees.
Now I trying to learn how to speed pick a pattern I came up with.
It starts on the low E at the 12th fret and the notes are:
E - E flat - E - F# - G - A - B
I’m using the low E and the A and ending on the D string.
Trying to do string changes fast and smooth.
There are several angles to talk about, where three are needed to clearly specify the pick orientation. Which angle are you talking about? Which angle was Chris talking about? Are they the same angle? This is why I get concerned about people having trouble and trying to explain what they are doing in text…
Note: If a pick is held “correctly,” only two angles are needed to specify it, where one reveals the amount of edge picking.
I am almost entirely using the edge of my pick when I am trying to play a scalar passage.