I know the general answer is usually for a greater degree of control regarding the latter but I was curious as to what particular cases you guys find yourselves doing one or the other.

In many cases for myself I find that mixing in fx through a send not only helps with control but also allows me to keep more presence if I like the transients of a particular element i’m applying fx to in a mix and want to keep them prominent while giving it a dash of that “spacey feel.”

If I’m going for vibe and want to really put a bigger and deeper feel on an element while still allowing some elbow room between it and other elements in its proximity then I go for direct application on the chain. I also find this helps tame presence and transients of instruments I like the individual sound of but don’t like how it sits within the mix.