Reply To: Choosing Gear to improve my Mixing

[Guido tum SudenKeymaster]

You have a better computer than I have and I'm often at the end of its CPU use, as well.
Especially when using console emulating and saturation plugins.
I do use a lot of "Alternatives" in Logic, maybe Traction has something similar. It's a copy of your project that uses the same recourses as the other alternatives. You can switch between alternatives from within the DAW.

I start with a "Edit" version of the mix, where I do cleanup, a rough mix and put on plugins that are simulating recording. Console emulation, EQ, and compressor(s), sometimes Tape emulation and other saturation plugins.
I then print all the tracks, often committing to kick, snare and/or background vocals mix-downs. Now the tracks all sound like I want them to and I have, hopefully, fewer tracks.

I then create an alternative, delete all the content and all the plugins and load the newly printed tracks.
Next part would be adding effects and do automation. The tracks usually don't get plugins at this stage anymore, maybe a simple EQ for corrections.

If I want to use Abbey Road Chambers I may have to freeze that track because my computer can only handle one or two of those.

If I want to record tracks I'll have more alternatives. In my recent project I recorded and edited drums and then added recording plugins and committed to the tracks. The next alternative was the new drum tracks and the recordings of bass and guitars.
I committed those again and added software instruments and bounced the single tracks with plugins.
The next alternative would be a rough mix of audio files only to record the vocals.

When I encounter mistakes that need to be fixed I just go back to the alternative where I edited that track, fix the mistake and bounce the track again, overriding the old one. So when I go back to the alternative I was working on the mistake will be gone even if I already edited that specific track.

Guido