Modeling plucked guitar tones via joint source-filter estimation

Physical models for plucked string instruments can produce high-quality tones using a computationally efficient implementation, but the estimation of model parameters through the analysis of audio remains problematic. Moreover, an accurate representation of the expressive aspects of a performance requires a separation of the performer´s articulation (source) from the instrument´s response (filter). This paper explores a physically-inspired signal model for plucked guitar sounds that facilitates the estimation of both string excitation and resonance parameters simultaneously. We present the application of the joint source-filter model in an analysis-synthesis framework to plucked-guitar recordings, and we demonstrate that our system is particularly adept at capturing and replicating the characteristic sounds resulting from various plucking styles. By explicitly modeling string articulations, we believe this system provides insight towards capturing the expressive intentions of a performer from the audio signal alone.