When I started out on FL, I lived by the plugins.  For the most part, the bundled presets on the bundled plug-ins are great, so in that respect we disagree.  Now, it has come to the point where I just start at a preset and tweak till it works for my individual piece.

And yeah, with almost anything that alters the core sound, the potential for fuck ups is huge, but the payoffs are in converse just as great.  It's all about getting a feel for the plugins.