Gear advice that's honest about its sources.
A research-driven resource for home studio producers, bedroom beatmakers, and anyone building music without a million-dollar studio.
This site exists for one reason: gear and software advice online is either too technical, too salesy, or too vague to act on. Our approach is to do the comparison work properly and be completely transparent about where our information comes from - what the specifications actually say, what experienced producers consistently report, and where the trade-offs are.
What you'll find here
Gear guides
Audio interfaces, microphones, studio monitors, MIDI controllers, and the accessories that actually matter (and the ones that don't).
Software breakdowns
Honest comparisons of DAWs like Ableton, FL Studio, and Logic, plus the plugins worth your money.
AI music tools
Where the new wave of AI generators, stem separators, and mixing assistants actually help, and where they fall short.
Free tools
A BPM tapper, online metronome, chord and scale finder, key and BPM detector, and a streaming royalty calculator. All free, all in your browser.
A small editorial team
Shlohmo is an independent site run by a small editorial team. We are researchers and writers who follow the home recording world closely - not a product testing lab, and we don't claim to be one.
Our value is in doing the comparison work thoroughly: reading the specifications, tracking what working producers report over time, and translating it into clear buying advice you can act on.
How we research and recommend
Our recommendations are compiled from manufacturer specifications and official documentation, published measurements and technical reviews, and the documented consensus of professional reviewers and working producers.
We do not independently test every product we write about, and we say so plainly. Where a specification matters to your buying decision, we link to the manufacturer's own documentation so you can verify it yourself. We would rather tell you exactly how solid our information is than imply an authority we haven't earned.
Our "best of" lists are ranked on merit, not on affiliate rates. We earn commissions on some links, and that never determines what we recommend or how we rank it. When we get something wrong, we correct it.
Full details are on our Editorial Policy and Affiliate Disclosure pages.
Independent, and unaffiliated
shlohmo.com is an independent music production resource. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the recording artist Shlohmo (Henry Laufer), or to any other recording artist. This domain was acquired and repurposed as a gear and production resource. If you are looking for the artist's official channels, please search for them directly.
Get in touch
Got a question, a correction, or a piece of gear you want us to cover? We read everything.
Contact us