In Logic, when you use stacks, things are comparatively easy to handle - just that you can easily revert to the individual takes, should you feel like. Yeah, ocassionally commiting yourself to, say, a bounce of whatever doubled/tripled guitars is helpful, but personally, I usually don't do that. I consolidate individual tracks, though.
Yeah, I've used Logic a lot (before switching to Pro Tools years ago. I like folders for some things, but I usually end up clicking around a lot more when I use them and need to find a particular track. They can also muddy things up if the contents of a folder are all routed to an output - sometimes its handy to have the contents routed to the same output, but sometimes you'll want certain things in the same folder to go to different outputs. Summing stacks have always added extra confusion to my sessions, but I usually have a good idea of where I want tracks routed before putting things into a folder. If I use folders, its always the kind without any routing and purely for organisation.
I think if something needs to be done to the track, its best to do it and get it out of the way rather than to keep loads of options open and needing attention. Try to make decisions with the end goal in mind. Logic in particular can be a nightmare for not committing to things - in theory you can have a track with timing and tuning edits still "active" with loads of plugins on top and complex routing and automation. Sometimes automation can be for a production effect and when trying to mix, its easier just to have all that printed into an audio file thats easier to work with. IMO, if its a production choice, try and get it as close to what you want and print it to audio. There's usually a point in the process where I know something is pretty much there, and any heavy handed processing Ill try and commit earlier.
My goal these days is to be able to open any session and be able to quickly get to grips with what is going on - a smaller session where its clear to see what parts are playing at what time, and where they are routed helps me focus more on creative aspects and less on the technical side.
I remember years ago studying some CLA articles online, and reading the Sound on Sound interview (
https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/secrets-mix-engineers-chris-lord-alge). At the time I was so fixated on the gear and settings that I overlooked the track sheet that showed the channels he had on his console. A huge reason of why he's able to mix at the speed and quality he does, is because he can be hands on with the tracks that are important. Check the article for how he goes from a 159 track Pro Tools session to something that fits onto his desk. If you treat the stereo ones as a single track, its 25 tracks that he's working with when mixing. Its not a CLA thing either, its just a workflow that is useful to adopt from the analog days.
Just to go a bit further, I think its really beneficial to try and not leave too many options open - it can become really overwhelming if there are LOADS of decisions to be made when you're trying to mix. It really transformed my work when I changed my mindset to get the sounds right early and then build other decisions on top of them. Sounds all relate to each other, so if you change one thing, it'll affect something else.
There are websites that try and teach mixing, and they make it sound like its normal that the starting point for a mix is drum MIDI, guitar DI's and everything really raw. Picking drum/guitar/vocal sounds is all part of the production and should be dealt with well before the mix. When the production is finished, the rough mix should get the point across of the song and things should roughly be in place. At that point, its good to reduce the tracks down and make things more simple, so the mix is more about enhancing the song (than trying to piece it all together).
