Bio

Jonathan S. Abel is a Consulting Professor at the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA) in the Music Department at Stanford University, working in music and audio applications of signal and array processing, parameter estimation and acoustics. He is also a co-founder of Seismic Innovations, LLC, and Seismic Services, LLC, companies specializing in microseismic signal processing. Abel was a co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of the GRAMMY Award winning Universal Audio, Inc. He was previously a researcher at NASA/Ames Research Center, Chief Scientist of Crystal River Engineering, Inc., and a Lecturer in the Department of Electrical Engineering at Yale University. As an industry consultant, Abel has worked with Apple, Dolby, FDNY, LSI Logic, L3 Technologies, LR Baggs, Native Instruments, SAIC, Sennheiser, Sigma Cubed, Triple Ring, and the U.S. NRL on projects in professional audio, GPS, fire department siting and deployment, medical imaging, room acoustics measurement, audio effects processing, passive sonar, and microsiesmic signal processing. He holds Ph.D. and M.S. degrees from Stanford University, and an S.B. from MIT, all in electrical engineering. Abel is a Fellow of the Audio Engineering Society for contributions to audio effects processing.

Academic Appointments

  • Adjunct Professor, Music

Contact

  • Academic
    University - Other Teaching/Research Department: Music Position: Adjunct Professor
    • CCRMA, Music Department
    • Stanford University
    • Stanford,  California  94305 
    University - Other Teaching/Research Department: Music Position: Adjunct Professor

Additional Info

  • Mail Code: 3076

2023-24 Courses

Stanford Advisees

All Publications

  • Grouped Feedback Delay Networks for Modeling of Coupled Spaces JOURNAL OF THE AUDIO ENGINEERING SOCIETY Das, O., Abel, J. S. 2021; 69 (7-8): 486-496

    View details for DOI 10.17743/jaes.2021.0026

    View details for Web of Science ID 000725440600003

  • Electric-to-acoustic pickup processing for string instruments: An experimental study of the guitar with a hexaphonic pickupa) JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA Rau, M., Abel, J. S., James, D., Smith, J. O. 2021; 150 (1): 385-397

    View details for DOI 10.1121/10.0005540

    View details for Web of Science ID 000675403200001

  • Electric-to-acoustic pickup processing for string instruments: An experimental study of the guitar with a hexaphonic pickup. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America Rau, M., Abel, J. S., James, D., Smith, J. O. 2021; 150 (1): 385

    Abstract

    A signal processing method to impart the response of an acoustic string instrument to an electric instrument that includes frequency-dependent string decay alterations is proposed. This type of processing is relevant when trying to make a less resonant instrument, such as an electric guitar, sound similar to a more resonant instrument, such as acoustic guitar. Unlike previous methods which typically only perform equalization, our method includes detailed physics-based string damping changes by using a time-varying filter which adds frequency-dependent exponential damping. Efficient digital filters are fit to bridge admittance measurements of an acoustic instrument and used to create equalization filters as well as damping correction filters. The damping correction filters are designed to work in real-time as they are triggered by onset and pitch detection of the signal measured through an under-saddle pickup to determine the intensity of the damping. A test case is presented in which an electric guitar is processed to model a measured acoustic guitar.

    View details for DOI 10.1121/10.0005540

    View details for PubMedID 34340520

  • CONFORMAL MAPS FOR THE DISCRETIZATION OF ANALOG FILTERS NEAR THE NYQUIST LIMIT Darabundit, C. C., Abel, J. S., IEEE IEEE. 2021: 97-104

    View details for Web of Science ID 000835744900013

  • Dispersive Delay and Comb Filters Using a Modal Structure IEEE SIGNAL PROCESSING LETTERS Abel, J. S., Canfield-Dafilou, E. K. 2019; 26 (12): 1748–52

    View details for DOI 10.1109/LSP.2019.2946990

    View details for Web of Science ID 000506875000002

  • A Method for Studying Interactions between Music Performance and Rooms with Real-Time Virtual Acoustics Canfield-Dafilou, E. K., Callery, E. F., Abel, J. S., Berger, J. J., Loughran, R., AngusWhiteoak, J. AUDIO ENGINEERING SOC INC. 2019

    View details for Web of Science ID 000579247300058

  • ON THE BEHAVIOR OF DELAY NETWORK REVERBERATOR MODES Das, O., Canfield-Dafilou, E. K., Abel, J. S., IEEE IEEE. 2019: 50–54

    View details for Web of Science ID 000527800200011

  • Live auralization of Cappella Romana at the Bing Concert Hall, Stanford University AURAL ARCHITECTURE IN BYZANTIUM: MUSIC, ACOUSTICS, AND RITUAL Abel, J. S., Werner, K., Pentcheva, B. V. 2018: 198–223

    View details for Web of Science ID 000454823200011

  • Icons of Sound: Auralizing the Lost Voice of Hagia Sophia SPECULUM-A JOURNAL OF MEDIEVAL STUDIES Pentcheva, B. V., Abel, J. S. 2017; 92: S336–S360

    View details for DOI 10.1086/693439

    View details for Web of Science ID 000412903300014

  • Modal Processor Effects Inspired by Hammond Tonewheel Organs APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL Werner, K. J., Abel, J. S. 2016; 6 (7)

    View details for DOI 10.3390/app6070185

    View details for Web of Science ID 000381492300002

  • SIGNAL DECORRELATION USING PERCEPTUALLY INFORMED ALLPASS FILTERS Kermit-Canfield, E., Abel, J., Rajmic, P., Rund, F., Schimmel, J. BRNO UNIV TECHNOLOGY, FAC ELECTRICAL ENG & COMMUNICATION. 2016: 225–31

    View details for Web of Science ID 000432607600032

  • More Than Fifty Years of Artificial Reverberation Valimaki, V., Parker, J. D., Savioja, L., Smith, J. O., Abel, J. S., Goetze, S., Spriet, A. AUDIO ENGINEERING SOC INC. 2016

    View details for Web of Science ID 000576926400001

  • DO YOU HAVE TO KEEP THE GOVERNMENT'S SECRETS? RETROACTIVELY CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS, THE FIRST AMENDMENT, AND THE POWER TO MAKE SECRETS OUT OF THE PUBLIC RECORD UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA LAW REVIEW Abel, J. 2015; 163 (4): 1037-1097

    View details for Web of Science ID 000355052100002

  • WAVE DIGITAL FILTER ADAPTORS FOR ARBITRARY TOPOLOGIES AND MULTIPORT LINEAR ELEMENTS Werner, K., Smith, J. O., Abel, J. S., Svensson, P., Kristiansen, U. NORWEGIAN UNIV SCI TECHNOL. 2015: 379–86

    View details for Web of Science ID 000432610400056

  • A GENERAL AND EXPLICIT FORMULATION FOR WAVE DIGITAL FILTERS WITH MULTIPLE/MULTIPORT NONLINEARITIES AND COMPLICATED TOPOLOGIES Werner, K., Nangia, V., Smith, J. O., Abel, J. S., IEEE IEEE. 2015

    View details for Web of Science ID 000377205500026

  • RESOLVING WAVE DIGITAL FILTERS WITH MULTIPLE/MULTIPORT NONLINEARITIES Werner, K., Nangia, V., Smith, J. O., Abel, J. S., Svensson, P., Kristiansen, U. NORWEGIAN UNIV SCI TECHNOL. 2015: 387–94

    View details for Web of Science ID 000432610400057

  • DISTORTION AND PITCH PROCESSING USING A MODAL REVERBERATOR ARCHITECTURE Abel, J. S., Werner, K., Svensson, P., Kristiansen, U. NORWEGIAN UNIV SCI TECHNOL. 2015: 95–102

    View details for Web of Science ID 000432610400014

  • A bank of beamformers implementing a constant-amplitude panning law. journal of the Acoustical Society of America Hur, Y., Abel, J. S., Park, Y., Youn, D. H. 2014; 136 (3): EL212-?

    Abstract

    This paper describes a technique for designing a collection of beamformers, a "beamformer bank," that approximately produces a constant-amplitude panning law. Useful in multichannel audio recording scenarios, a point source will appear with energy above a specified sidelobe level in at most two adjacent beams, and the sum of all beam signals will approximate the source signal. A design method is described in which a specified sidelobe level determines beamwidth as a function of arrival direction and frequency, leading directly to the number and placement of beams at each frequency. Simulation results are presented verifying the proposed technique's performance.

    View details for DOI 10.1121/1.4892669

    View details for PubMedID 25190423

  • Numerical Synthesis of an Optimal Low-Sidelobe Beam Pattern for a Microphone Array IEEE SIGNAL PROCESSING LETTERS Hur, Y., Park, Y., Abel, J. S., Youn, D. H. 2014; 21 (8): 914-917

    View details for DOI 10.1109/LSP.2014.2320916

    View details for Web of Science ID 000336042100002

  • A PHYSICALLY-INFORMED, CIRCUIT-BENDABLE, DIGITAL MODEL OF THE ROLAND TR-808 BASS DRUM CIRCUIT Werner, K., Abel, J. S., Smith, J. O., Int Audio Labs Erlangen INT AUDIO LABORATORIES ERLANGEN. 2014: 159–66

    View details for Web of Science ID 000432613600023

  • Fifty Years of Artificial Reverberation IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON AUDIO SPEECH AND LANGUAGE PROCESSING Valimaki, V., Parker, J. D., Savioja, L., Smith, J. O., Abel, J. S. 2012; 20 (5): 1421-1448

    View details for DOI 10.1109/TASL.2012.2189567

    View details for Web of Science ID 000302210400001

  • Toward an estimation of the clarinet reed pulse from instrument performance JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA Smyth, T., Abel, J. S. 2012; 131 (6): 4799-4810

    Abstract

    In this work, a technique is presented for estimating the reed pulse from the pressure signal recorded at the bell of a clarinet during performance. The reed pulse is a term given to the typically periodic sequence of bore input pressure pulses, a signal related to the volume flow through a vibrating reed by the characteristic impedance of the aperture to the bore. The problem is similar to extracting glottal pulse sequence from recorded speech; however, because the glottis and instrument reeds have very different masses and opening areas, the source-filter model used in speech processing is not applicable. Here, the reed instrument is modeled as a pressure-controlled valve coupled to a bi-directional waveguide, with the output pressure approximated as a linear time invariant transformation of the product of reed volume flow and the characteristic impedance of the bore. By noting that pressure waves will make two round trips from the mouthpiece to the bell and back for each reed pulse, yielding a distinct positive and negative lobe in the running autocorrelation period of the recorded signal, the round-trip attenuation experienced by pressure waves in the instrument is estimated and used to invert the implied waveguide, producing reed pulse estimates.

    View details for DOI 10.1121/1.3699211

    View details for Web of Science ID 000309133500068

    View details for PubMedID 22712951

  • The Switched Convolution Reverberator JOURNAL OF THE AUDIO ENGINEERING SOCIETY Lee, K. S., Abel, J. S., Valimaki, V., Stilson, T., Berners, D. P. 2012; 60 (4): 227-236

    View details for Web of Science ID 000304381900001

  • Techniques for Synthetic Reconfiguration of Microphone Arrays JOURNAL OF THE AUDIO ENGINEERING SOCIETY Hur, Y., Abel, J. S., Park, Y., Youn, D. H. 2011; 59 (6): 404-418

    View details for Web of Science ID 000293109900003

  • Recent Advances in Real-Time Musical Effects, Synthesis, and Virtual Analog Models EURASIP JOURNAL ON ADVANCES IN SIGNAL PROCESSING Pakarinen, J., Valimaki, V., Fontana, F., Lazzarini, V., Abel, J. S. 2011

    View details for DOI 10.1155/2011/940784

    View details for Web of Science ID 000300995700001

  • Parametric Spring Reverberation Effect JOURNAL OF THE AUDIO ENGINEERING SOCIETY Valimaki, V., Parker, J., Abel, J. S. 2010; 58 (7-8): 547-562

    View details for Web of Science ID 000281016500001

  • Efficient Antialiasing Oscillator Algorithms Using Low-Order Fractional Delay Filters IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON AUDIO SPEECH AND LANGUAGE PROCESSING Nam, J., Valimaki, V., Abel, J. S., Smith, J. O. 2010; 18 (4): 773-785

    View details for DOI 10.1109/TASL.2009.2035039

    View details for Web of Science ID 000276621600007

  • Automated Physical Modeling of Nonlinear Audio Circuits For Real-Time Audio Effects-Part I: Theoretical Development IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON AUDIO SPEECH AND LANGUAGE PROCESSING Yeh, D. T., Abel, J. S., Smith, J. O. 2010; 18 (4): 728-737

    View details for DOI 10.1109/TASL.2009.2033978

    View details for Web of Science ID 000276621600003

  • Alias-Suppressed Oscillators Based on Differentiated Polynomial Waveforms IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON AUDIO SPEECH AND LANGUAGE PROCESSING Valimaki, V., Nam, J., Smith, J. O., Abel, J. S. 2010; 18 (4): 786-798

    View details for DOI 10.1109/TASL.2009.2026507

    View details for Web of Science ID 000276621600008

  • Robust, Efficient Design of Allpass Filters for Dispersive String Sound Synthesis IEEE SIGNAL PROCESSING LETTERS Abel, J. S., Valimaki, V., Smith, J. O. 2010; 17 (4): 406–9

    View details for DOI 10.1109/LSP.2010.2040924

    View details for Web of Science ID 000417800000001

  • A Super-Resolution Spectrogram Using Coupled PLCA 11th Annual Conference of the International-Speech-Communication-Association 2010 Nam, J., Mysore, G. J., Ganseman, J., Lee, K., Abel, J. S. ISCA-INT SPEECH COMMUNICATION ASSOC. 2010: 1696–1699

    View details for Web of Science ID 000313086500036

  • A HYBRID REVERBERATION CROSSFADING TECHNIQUE 2010 IEEE International Conference on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing Greenblatt, A. B., Abel, J. S., Berners, D. P. IEEE. 2010: 429–432

    View details for Web of Science ID 000287096000105

  • Estimating Waveguide Model Elements from Acoustic Tube Measurements ACTA ACUSTICA UNITED WITH ACUSTICA Smyth, T., Abel, J. S. 2009; 95 (6): 1093-1103

    View details for DOI 10.3813/AAA.918241

    View details for Web of Science ID 000272974200014

  • Spectral Delay Filters JOURNAL OF THE AUDIO ENGINEERING SOCIETY Valimaki, V., Abel, J. S., Smith, J. O. 2009; 57 (7-8): 521-531

    View details for Web of Science ID 000269367300004

  • Numerical methods for simulation of guitar distortion circuits COMPUTER MUSIC JOURNAL Yeh, D. T., Abei, J. S., Vladimirescu, A., Smith, J. O. 2008; 32 (2): 23-42

    View details for Web of Science ID 000256805700002

  • Convolutional synthesis of wind instruments 2007 IEEE WORKSHOP ON APPLICATIONS OF SIGNAL PROCESSING TO AUDIO AND ACOUSTICS Smyth, T., Abel, J. S. 2007: 317-?

    View details for Web of Science ID 000258319500080

  • Speaker locations from inter-speaker range measurements: Closed-form estimator and performance relative to the Cramer-Rao lower bound IEEE International Conference on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing Wilson, S., Walters, J., Abel, J. IEEE. 2004: 389–392

    View details for Web of Science ID 000222174600098

  • Discrete-time simulation of air-flow cut-off in pressure-controlled valves IEEE Workshop on Applications of Signal Processing to Audio and Acoustics Smyth, T., Abel, J., Smith, J. IEEE. 2003: 229–232

    View details for Web of Science ID 000189446400079

  • A simple, accurate wall loss filter for acoustic tubes 6th International Conference on Digital Audio Effects (DAFX 03) Abel, J., Smyth, T., Smith, J. O. QUEEN MARY UNIV LONDON. 2003: 254–258

    View details for Web of Science ID 000188242300051

  • Bark and ERB bilinear transforms IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON SPEECH AND AUDIO PROCESSING Smith, J. O., Abel, J. S. 1999; 7 (6): 697-708

    View details for Web of Science ID 000083497200009

  • SOURCE RANGE AND DEPTH ESTIMATION FROM MULTIPATH RANGE DIFFERENCE MEASUREMENTS IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ACOUSTICS SPEECH AND SIGNAL PROCESSING Abel, J. S., Smith, J. O. 1989; 37 (8): 1157-1165

    View details for Web of Science ID A1989AG36400001