In Need of some Counsel

[Bluesman48]

I am in need of some wisdom and advice from the all knowing on the forum here. I am going to have a drummer lay down some drum tracks on a cd I'm working on. The kit is very basic, snare, hi-hat and kick. The arrangements are very simple guitar(s), bass, drums and vocals. This is not for professional release, just for me and my friends entertainment. That being said I still want it to sound good. Since I have never tracked real drums before I do have a question. I am going to use a SM57 (snare) the drummer is going to supply the mic for the kick, and I'm going to use a pair of Miktek C-5's for overheads, on the hi-hat I am leaning towards my Royer 101. Now for my question(and I realize this is completely subjective) do I compress while tracking or is that best left at mixdown or is it both ? Please share your wisdom oh learned ones. Thanks

[poetdoc]

I tend to cut as dry as possible, then add the effects in mixing and mastering. I play a combination of acoustic and electronic instruments, and I try to smooth everything out in post rather than try to keep track of all the different instruments. That's just me, though; I'm sure there are experts who would call me crazy.