i say it's totally up to your personal preference. we'll load up with plugins on the master, on each channel, rinse the shit out of the cpu (most tracks we do have max CPU cause we use so many plugs). then record it, go back to it later and make it sound right by mastering it using a load more plugins and eq.

someone once told me 'don't maximise until the very last thing you do', but TBH, it's all down to personal taste and sound your trying to achieve.