I often make a rough mix as I am going alone recording, but only to make recording other parts easier (i.e. slap a big compressor withs lots of make up gain across the kick and snare so they really pop out of a busy mix. But my rough mix is exactly that, rough. It's more like a monitor mix in a live situation. When I finish recording a song, I'll usually throw out all the effects, delete the automation, and reset all my faders, panpots, and sends. Then I'll start the mix with a fresh start. A lot of times I may end up with roughly the same settings I had before, but more often, the song takes on a new life, that far outshines anything the rough mix was doing.
