i started off learning to play clawhammer for a year or so (which I still like to play occasionally) and then moved on to the "scruggs" style 3 finger picking, similar to what you're doing but with the thumb and finger picks. my biggest influence is definitely ralph stanley, but there have been many others along the way.
i've got a gibson rb250, the neck is from 1993 and the pot is from 1967. it was put together by a guy in colorado springs, where i got it many years ago in 2001. they are definitely pricey, i got this one for a fairly reasonable deal and i love the sound of it. i used to do quite a bit of gigging when I lived in Colorado, so I needed one that would be loud enough to be heard through all the other instruments. i took the better part of the last 3-4 years off from playing (grad school got in the way) and finally found a group of guys who need a banjo player once a month or so, so I've been getting back into it over the last year or so... once i got the cobwebs blown off, it came back pretty quick. and i've never stopped listening to bluegrass/old school country, so the mindset was always there, i just had to practice my way back up to get back in the groove...
keep on pickin!
edit: open back banjos are a blast!
