[dbbubba]

For me it has just depended on the material being mixed, the room and the drummer.
The recording format (digital VS. analog) also has a large bearing.

I only apply compression it at mix.

I also find that stuff that was recorded to digital requires it even more than stuff recorded to tape.
I just learned and grew accustomed to the sound of OHs coming off of 2" tape (1" in the early days) so it is my "standard" as far as a sound goes.
There is just a silkiness that OHs get when recorded to tape that I miss on digital.
I have recorded to so many digital formats since 1992 (DATS and PCM701 before that) and the cymbals are the one thing that bugs me the most in all digital formats. I have recorded to multitrack digital since 1992 starting with a SONY 3324 DASH up thru PT HD.
I almost instinctively try to re-create that "silkiness" or compression effect from analog tape with a stereo compressor.

I will add this, too.
I like parallel compression and have used it for years before I knew what the term actually meant (more often on vocals in the old days.)
Still, it can add too much room/ambience at times which makes the drums turn into a wash that gets lost in dense material like dense GTR stuff.
It is a case of where the drums sound really cool on their own and in the holes, but the factors that make it sound cool tend to add to the confusion when everything is rocking along.

I try REALLY hard to eliminate superfluous stuff when mixing.
I'll pull lot's of stuff out and too much room can really muddy up a mix in the 100hz to 300 hz range.
I might leave in just enough to hear/feel the room in the holes.

If a fader is down low enough... I'll turn it OFF!