Depends!

I recently bought into using a ceiling-mounted sling and plumb bob method to balance my planes. My planes include high wing trainer (SIG LT-40 & SIG Kadet Senior), low wing intermediate (4Star60), mid-wing toy (ShowTime 50) and bi-plane (SIG Hog Bipe). All were balanced with the planes in a "canopy up" attitude.

I like that this approach balances the plane both laterally (tip to tip) and longitudinally in 1 step. As I consider myself to be a newbie I still have no clue when I look at a plane balanced on dowels whether it is level, nose up or nose down unless it is extreme. The sling method takes "opinion & experience" out of the equation.