Wrote these replies hours ago, but couldn't post for some reason.
Sanderxpander
Since both versions are essentially (ha!) the same and only the serial unlocks the different features, I would guesstimate the resource difference is non existent as long as you don't use the extra features.
Ahh ok, so a no brainer then. Cheers
noynekker
Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) . . . Melodyne Essential that comes with Sonar 3 just tantalizes the possibilities, and shows how good the Celemony Melodyne product really is, such that you really keep thinking "upgrade" . . . upgrade, upgrade. If you have the cash, it's a great choice to do the upgrade.
Yeah, when I used last night, I just felt tantalised. Read a thread about the upgrade option, and as I have missed out on these things and regretted later, I just went for it. Very few times in my life can I afford to do this, and one is now, thankfully. Seeing a Bitflipper comment about being able to edit multiple audio tracks in one screen sold it for me, as I want it to for harmonising different performances. The polyphonic stuff I can deal with later, at the moment I've enough bending my brain, getting to speed with everything in X3.
I wondered how long it would be before Scook and Scoot became confused.