Finger playing problem

[Mindaugas]

Hello,

I'm playing 1+ year and just bought a new Ibanez SRX500 (Korean-made). I was playing with ****ty old

Jolana (strings were about 1cm from the neck), so now when playing very fast and pretty agressive, strings hit the frets and give me the slap sound which I don't need and don't like. The strings are ~2-3mm from the neck now. Should I higher them?
And I have another question: when I'm playing these very fast parts, with rhythmic groups, for example an 8th and two 16ths, my fingers aren't always alternating. I'm playing it 1-1-2 1-1-2 1-1-2, but I can reach a good speed, about 180bpm. Is this normal?

Thanx,
Mindaugas

[szvonek]

You could raise the strings if you wanted to keep playing aggressively, but I think you'll find it's easier to just increase your volume and play lighter; you can also increase your speed by playing lighter. You might want to also check the angle that your hitting the strings; if it's less than perpendicular by a lot that could be part of the issue.

As far as the alternating finger thing, that's very normal and pretty common. I think it's good to practice different variations of that too so you don't get in too much of a habit doing the same alternating patterns.