The 5th Horseman

Eddie Van Halen also used to play with a metal pick and supposedly boiled his strings to give them a different tone.....people will do some crazy **** just try to get a different sound. Honestly, when I was figuring out what kind of strings I liked, I tried a bunch, as well as different string gauges, and eventually fell into using both Elixer's and Dean Markley Blue Steel's, both gauged at .10. I play a very wide variety of styles, and the strings sound great for everything. Ive also found that playing .10's seems (to me) to be the perfect string gauge. When playing in dropped tunings / alternate tunings ( D standard, C standard), the thicker gauge helps keep some nice tone, and when playing in standard, the .10s might not bend AS far as .9's, but they will bend as far as is practically needed, and will also help you develop stronger fingers.

Just my thoughts