yeah, thanks, Phil! I use track folders like crazy and always have. My main axe is Digital Performer, which does not use the folders to create a bus for the tracks, though I have also used Studio One, which can do that. (I have Pro Tools, but rarely use it.) I also often (but not always) have busses that correspond to the folders, both because it facilitates group processing, but also because it simplifies printing stems when I want to archive the song at the end of the mix or project.
Again, my usage isn’t an entirely consistent scheme. For example, a tune I’m working on now has a drums folder and a vocals folder, but it also has a rhythm folder with chord and rhythm instruments, and a leads folder.
Curious, though, how you work your FX bus. Some effects will be applied to group (i.e. vocals or winds), while others may be dedicated to a single instrument (snare, lead guitar). Do you put all of those in the FX bus? I tend to put the dedicated stuff with the instrument they are serving, and the more general effects in a folder together.