Take for example, a vocal track, which I want to add delay, reverb, and other effects. I create a bus with all those effects in it. I can either make the "Output" of the vocal track the bus... or I can create a "Send" and route that send to the bus. What is the difference between the two methods? Is it basically the same thing?

If you set the send to Pre (pre fader), this allows you to use the Send to control the amount of signal from the track that gets the effect. And also still use the volume control of the track to control the level of the dry track signal.

Scott

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Scott R. Garrigus - http://garrigus.com
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No. With a send you are tapping into a portion of the signal. You can make it 100% but its meant to allow one to control how much is sent. When you output to a buss its the entire signal.

In mixer terms its a send and a return. The return can also have a variable amount by adjusting the fader of the aux buss. You blend the direct to the buss signal and the return signal and control the sound you get. Its like having a wet and dry control.

In SONARs help file is a signal flow diagram that is useful in understanding the difference in sends and routing from a track's output to a bus.
Both have their uses; knowing when to do one or the other or both will help give you greater flexibility with signal processing with fx etc.

I dedicated a whole video to this very subject in SWA Complete X2 with examples to show (hear?) the difference.

Basically a send is "sending" a copy of the signal to a buss to do with what you will. You still have the original signal to work with as well. You'd normally send that signal for processing of some sort (such as reverb) and then mix it with the original using the send's send level control.

If you use an output there is no copy that's the one and only version and if you make processing changes to it you have nothing to mix it with at all, not usually what you want.