For the past ten years or more I have been very happy using TypeTool 3 for my typeface design work. It is simple, easy to use and very cheap to purchase. I feel very comfortable with it. Though sometimes I wonder if I should move on to a more professional piece of software? What is the consensus amongst typeface designers?
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If you're not planning to make multiple master fonts, you're not missing anything critical by not using the full version of Fontlab. If you want to add OpenType features, you don't need FontLab for that.
Here's the critical ingredient you're missing out on: class based kerning. It's something that takes less than an hour to learn and it'll cut your kerning time down dramatically while reducing errors. It's one of those things that, once you try it, you can't imagine not having it. I think it's possible to set up kerning classes externally but it's nice to be able to do it in software so you can see what you're doing.
The upcoming OTM edition, which will be released within a few weeks, contains quite some new functionality. For instance, it includes Harfbuzz now for the interpretation of OT Layout features (in the text window one can toggle on/off the individual features).
BTW, registered OTM 3.7 users are entitled to receiving a free upgrade.
(Disclaimer: ah well, you know I’m biased ;-)
TBH, I can only tell you what works for me and others here will come up with different suggestions. But all roads lead to Rome. Tonight I was listening to the radio and I heard Jauchzet, frohlocket from J.S. Bach’s Christmas Oratorio. The presenter said that the music was excellently following the text of the Christmas gospel and suggested that it was utterly suited for it. Ah well, Bach originally wrote the music for the opening chorus of another cantata and it supported the text ‘Tönet, ihr Pauken!’ We hear what we want to hear, see what we want to see, and believe what we want to believe.
FWIW, I've found Glyphs terrific for maximizing design time and minimizing software-wrangling time.