There is incredible value in transcribing and learning things note for note - especially from people like Scruggs or Crowe. The young boy J.D. did not become Mr. J.D. Crowe the butt-kicker in a vacuum; he learned Earl's stuff note for note, tried to play like him for a long time, and then realized "You can't beat a man at his own game" (J.D.'s very own quote). Without a solid foundation, there's nothing to build on (that and having Jimmy Martin pound things into your head when you're young doesn't hurt either).

There's paradox here; I believe cloning Scruggs or Crowe is impossible in the first place, and a waste of good technique in the second. But the technique gained by someone who has thoroughly studied a great player can be put to amazing use; read that "Jim Mills" or "Ron Stewart" and you get the picture. Those guys didn't just 'sort of learn' Earl's and J.D.'s breaks. They studied them, learned to play every little nuance, and reveled in doing it. That's the school where their technique was built, a deep understanding of the drive, passion, and vocabulary of bluegrass banjo. I can't say enough about the importance of transcribing and assimilating the solos and backup of the great players - and especially people like Earl and Crowe.

That said, it's also important to experiment with one's own sounds. There's nothing like someone who sounds "almost just like Tony Rice". Even if he sounds exactly like Tony, he'll never be Tony - only a copycat. Tony became Tony through his influences and through experimentation and improvisation. Crowe became the great player that he is by studying Earl, and then eventually bringing other sounds into his playing (50's rock and roll, how un-bluegrass!). Careful study of great players is the means, but the means can be mistaken for the end - a personalized, individual expression that is immediately identifiable.

So - I'd say not only to learn breaks note for note, but learn to transcribe them yourself. There is inestimable value in doing so. Learning from tablature alone doesn't instill the same sense of nuance, timing, and tone that will come from transcribing Crowe's playing on "Molly and Tenbrooks" from The Bluegrass Album. There is a concentrated listening, a deep awareness that happens when we listen to a small part of a song over and over; it gets down deep into our musical consciousness and becomes a part of us.

It's true that there's no one "right way" to play a tune. But there are many great ways, from the minds of great players, that we can learn from, and so in doing so learn more of what is possible on the instrument.