I've been using Logic 9 Express for a while now and am quite pleased with it but have recently become tempted by the price drop of the Pro version.

It seems I can't upgrade my version so would be forced to buy the full version of Pro. Has anyone gone from Express to Pro? What are the main benefits? Any regrets?

The additional effects but mainly the instruments (piano, organ, Sculpture) may be worth it for you, they are definitely nice to have.

But I wouldn't upgrade just yet if I were in your position. I have this feeling that apple won't be offering upgrade paths when a new version comes out. With the current pricing, that makes sense to me. Considering Logic 9 is out for a while, I expect a new version any time now. So I would just wait for that if there's nothing in logic pro you absolutely have to have.

For a quick comparison between logic express and studio (=pro without the extra applications), take a look at http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4229

there is a table of the differences between pro and express on the second page in this thread .

You mighty find an old/cheap logic express to logic studio 2 upgrade on ebay or you could always sell your logic express if you buy pro from the app store.

i say YES and sell your express!! You'll probably still get 100 for it so you are only paying 100!

space designer and sculpture are superb

delay designer is in another league and is the best delay plug in in the whole friggin entire world bar none.

It's *unbelievably* good.

I didn't upgrade. Instead, buy Mainstage from the AppStore ($30), which gives you access to ALL of the jampacks and sofware instruments from Logic Pro as downloads. The only things you are missing then are the effects and the cool Sculpture synth.

I think I'm going to stick with what I have. It seems to do enough for me. To be honest, there is still a ton of stuff I've not explored in the express version and I've got a working flow that is finally delivering results.

You get them too with Mainstage - amazing

So you can use VB3 within Logic Express as a normal plugin?

As far as I can tell, you only get the software instruments and loops. The extra synth and effects only work within Mainstage, not within Logic Express. If you are creative you can, of course figure a way to record from Mainstage and bring in audio, but that is probably more trouble than it is worth.

I think its a good deal though compared to shelling out another $200 for logic pro. I figure I'll wait for the next logic upgrade to spring for that.

TTOZ is right - Space Designer is an amazing addition - you can even use it for Guitar Cab IR's too!