and here I thought I was the only one that sends the delay output to reverb
YES! but only if the reverb is replaced with something that I would actually want to be heard.
I would never use the ingternall reverb... IT IS THAT HORRIBLE!
Since I use an external reverb I can send delay to it.
Yeah, I always thought it sounded a little strange when something that had reverb and delay on it, that the delayed sound returned dry while the source had reverb on it, so I stopped using the dedicated returns, and ran the effects back in on a channel (when I had enough available) so I could bleed some delay into the reverb and match everything up.
I've spent a fair amount of time working with the internal reverb, and have come up with a couple presets that are very good for specific needs -- one of these days, I'll get them in a position to share. The one that I've spent the most time with is for a local classic rock cover band with a female vocalist that channels Grace Slick. We've got her sound nailed for 'White Rabbit' and 'Somebody to Love.' I've also been working on one that's pretty nice for acoustic guitars.
I'll agree that the "out-of-the-box" presets aren't great, but as I mentioned some time ago, it's as good as some of the early low-cost digital reverbs I worked with years ago (think ART DR1 and the original Alesis MIDIVerb). Maybe my experience with those old, simple units, along with some of the other junk I've had to live with over the years, gives me an advantage in getting the Mackie to sound decent.
Cheers!