Death Plate

Preset Playthrough

Metal. Resonance. Ruin. Born from a bespoke noise box created by French sound artist Avro Pvrt, THE DEATH PLATE is an instrument built from collision, tension, and decay. Originally released in a stripped-back form through Pianobook, the instrument quickly developed a following among composers and sound designers looking for something less conventional than traditional percussion. This expanded edition rebuilds the library from the ground up, introducing new recordings, processed layers, curated snapshots, and a redesigned interface that pushes the instrument far beyond its origins.

Neither percussion nor texture library, THE DEATH PLATE exists somewhere between the two — a collection of metallic impacts, tortured resonances, bowed drones, and evolving atmospheres shaped by force rather than performance.

Now updated

Now rebuilt as a standalone VST3 and AU instrument, THE DEATH PLATE has been taken out on location to a disused airbase for a new round of recordings, adding fresh textures and layers alongside a brand new set of impulse responses — 40 in total. Four new articulations join the original library, all brought into a completely new interface with a Granulator and Motion engine for blending between layers while keeping the sound consistent. The original Kontakt library is still included for anyone who prefers it. This update is free for all existing owners.

The Instrument

Every sound originates from a purpose-built metallic construction designed to be struck, scraped, bowed, and abused.

Captured using three internal contact microphones alongside traditional recording techniques, the source material reveals details normally hidden beneath the surface — sympathetic vibrations, mechanical resonance, unstable overtones, and the lingering decay of stressed metal.

The result is an instrument that feels alive, unpredictable, and endlessly characterful.

Hits, scrapes, and resonance

The foundation of THE DEATH PLATE lies in its raw recordings.

Aggressive impacts, metallic scrapes, and physical interactions provide everything from sharp percussive punctuation to dense cinematic weight. Every sound retains the imperfections and unpredictability of the original instrument.

Bowed textures

Extended performance techniques reveal an entirely different side of the instrument.

Bowed metal and tensioned strings create howling drones, evolving harmonics, and unstable resonances that feel equally suited to horror scoring, experimental composition, and atmospheric sound design.

Beyond the source

Alongside the original recordings, THE DEATH PLATE includes a collection of processed material created through saturation, compression, modular processing, and pedal chains.

These layers push the instrument further into abstraction, transforming metallic performances into evolving textures, drones, and cinematic soundscapes.

Recorded on location

For this update, THE DEATH PLATE was taken out of the studio and recorded on location at a disused airbase, adding a new set of textural layers captured in a space no studio session could replicate — different rooms, different distances, different decay.

Alongside the new recordings, the convolution reverb has been rebuilt with a brand new set of impulse responses captured during the same sessions, bringing the total to 40 — from tight, close spaces to the vast concrete emptiness of the airbase itself.

Four new articulations

The update adds four new articulations to the original library:

• ✓ Body Hits
• ✓ String Hits
• ✓ Mallet Body Hits
• ✓ Mallet String Hits

A new interface

THE DEATH PLATE has been brought into our new UI, keeping the original instrument’s style and feel while opening up a new way of working with it.

A Granulator and Motion engine now sits at the centre of the instrument, letting you blend between raw, bowed, and processed layers while keeping the overall sound consistent as it moves and evolves.

Built for experimentation

The redesigned interface places exploration at the centre of the experience.

Blend between raw, bowed, and processed layers to create entirely new textures. Use the Chaos system to generate unexpected combinations instantly, or shape every detail manually through filtering, saturation, dynamics, and envelope controls.

The goal is not realism. It is discovery.

Effects and transformation

A refined filter section introduces resonance control for more aggressive shaping, while the Drive and Tone controls provide everything from subtle warmth to complete destruction.

The processing section allows compression and saturation to be blended in parallel, while the custom convolution reverb — now with 40 impulse responses drawn from both the original sessions and the new airbase recordings — expands the instrument into vast cinematic spaces and haunting atmospheric environments.

What’s included

• ✓ Original metallic impacts, scrapes, and resonances
• ✓ Bowed drones and evolving textures
• ✓ New textural layers recorded on location at a disused airbase
• ✓ Four new articulations — Body Hits, String Hits, Mallet Body Hits, Mallet String Hits
• ✓ Extensive processed sound library
• ✓ Layer blending system
• ✓ Granulator and Motion engine
• ✓ Chaos randomisation engine
• ✓ 20 curated snapshot presets
• ✓ 40 impulse responses for the convolution reverb
• ✓ Enhanced filter with resonance control
• ✓ Drive and Tone saturation section
• ✓ Compression and processing controls with mix adjustment
• ✓ Full ADSR envelope shaping
• ✓ Completely redesigned interface
• ✓ Standalone VST3 and AU formats, with the original Kontakt library included

System Requirements

Now available as a standalone VST3 or AU plugin, with no additional software required. The original Kontakt library is also included for anyone who prefers it, though it requires the full version of Kontakt 6.0.8 or higher — Kontakt Player is not supported.

Walkthrough

A full walkthrough of THE DEATH PLATE. An updated video covering the new interface, articulations, and Granulator and Motion engine is coming soon.

FAQ

What is THE DEATH PLATE?
An instrument built from a bespoke metal noise box created by French sound artist Avro Pvrt — metallic impacts, tortured resonances, bowed drones, and evolving atmospheres, sitting somewhere between a percussion library and a texture library.

What formats does THE DEATH PLATE come in?
It’s now available as a standalone VST3 or AU plugin, with no additional software required. The original Kontakt library is also included for anyone who prefers it, though it requires the full version of Kontakt 6.0.8 or higher — Kontakt Player is not supported.

Is this a free update?
Yes — this update is free for all existing owners of THE DEATH PLATE, delivered through the Pulse downloader.

What’s new in this update?
A standalone VST3/AU version alongside the original Kontakt library, new textural layers recorded on location at a disused airbase, 40 impulse responses for the convolution reverb, four new articulations (Body Hits, String Hits, Mallet Body Hits, Mallet String Hits), and a completely new interface built around a Granulator and Motion engine.