Overview of the most important organ stops

Diapasons: open, cylindrical -medium width:

a/1) Diapasons:
Prinzipal, -baß: 32’ (P, rare), 16’ (P, rarer Ms), 8’ (Ms; GO practically always, others according to size, design and function), 4’ (in smaller Orgeln, in smaller positives like RP, OW, BW depending on size)
Wooden diapasons (Internal ranks) usually get specific names, like in Austria„Portun“ 8’.
Typical for Italian organs is a compound undulating diapason„Voce umana.“
Oktav 4’ (to Prinzipal 8’)
Superoktav 2’ (to Prinzipal 8’ and Oktav 4’)
Superoktav 1’ (rare)

Quint 10²/₃’ (older: 12’; harmonic 3 to 32’)
Quint 5¹/₃’ (older: 6’; harmonic 3 to 16’)
Quint 2²/₃’ (older: 3’; harmonic 3 to 8’)
Quint 1¹/₃’ (older: 1¹/₂’; harmonic 3 to 4’,  6 to 8’)

Terz 6²/₅’ (older: Terz aus 8’; harmonic 5 to 16’)
Terz 3¹/₅’ (older: Terz aus 4’; harmonic 5 to 8’)
Terz 1³/₅’ (older: Terz aus 2’; harmonic 5 to 4’)

Superoctaves, Fifths and Thirds get reduced own harmonics by ie  higher cuts, or wider diameters, or reduced windflow and thus reduced volume.

a/2) Compound ranks in (wider) diapason measure:
a/2-1) Repeating ranks:
Mixtur (P, MO,  bigger positives like RP; rarer solo manuals and smaller organs)
Combined from octave and fifths ranks (rarely, eg in southern Germany including thirds); repeating; lowest rank usually 2²/₃’ or 2’.

Zimbel: very high mixtur above the „mixtur“; lowest rank  often 1’ or ½’; therefore repeating more frequently.

Scharf: Rather high and usually slightly narrower, later including a thirds rank  (opposed to a mixtur without)

a/2-2) Not (or only once) repeating compounds:
Rauschpfeife 2f. 2²/₃’+2’       (harmonics 3+4 to 8’), rarer also 4’+2²/₃’ (harmonics 2+3 to 8’), comparatively wider.
Sesquialtera 2f. 2²/₃’+1³/₅’   (harmonics 3+5 to 8’), rare also 3f. 2²/₃’+2’+1³/₅’
Hörnl 2f.              2’+1³/₅’       (harmonics 4+5 to 8’); south German.
Terzian 2f.          1³/₅’+1¹/₃’    (harmonics 5+6 to 8’)

a/3) Compound fundamental ranks:
Piffaro/Bifara/Bifra 8’ 2f. (M): Usually double, occasionally undulating eg with one diapason and one narrower rank, many variants in make and combinations, or as 8’+4’ with one stopped and one open rank.

 Geigenprinzipal (secondary manuals): Diapoason slightlx narrower and low cut, slightly stringlike.
Schweizerpfeife (later „Flauto traverso/Querflöte“ asf.): eng, overblowing! Probably oldest narrow rank. „Querflöte“ often of wood , with rounded labium edge, outside wind channel and inverted mouth.

 Narrower (true „strings“):
Gamba 8’ (GO): usually the narrowest rank of all, strong wind and beards; rarely conically tapering  (as „Spitzgambe“). Because of the rather slow speaking (like all „string“ ranks)  used in slower and solo passages.

 Salicional 8’ (secondary manuals) slightly wider (some organ makers also narrower!) than Gamba, with slightly less wind and rounded labium.

 Viola 8’ (secondary manuals, rare also 4’, in GW): slightly wider and less wind than gamba.
Im P: Violoncello 8’.

 Violonbaß 16’ (P): narrow, usually of wood.

 (More string ranks, primarily 19th c.: Fugara, Dolce, Äoline, Vox coelestis, the last undulating).

open, wide

1) cylindrical
Hohlflöte 8’, occasionally 4’: very wide measure.
Flöte 8’, 4’: wide (or shortend for one of the following)
Blockflöte (meist 4’): in various measures, as well wide-cylindrical as well as conical, open, rarely also stopped.
Waldflöte, and
Flachflöte (rather narrower, almost diapason-like, close cut)

2) conical tapering
Koppelflöte, Spillflöte: cylindrical at the beginning, then conical.
Gemshorn 8’, 4’, Nasat 2²/₃’: wide-conical
Spitzflöte 8’, 4’, Flageolet 2’, 1’ medium-wide conical.

3) conical expanding
Dolkan, Dulcian 8’ (not to be mistaken with the reed stop Dulcian): Only labial rank with expanding measure.

d) stopped ranks

d/1) cylindrical

Gedacktflöte 8’, 4’, Nasat 2 2 / 3 ’ (variant of open Nasat), Bauernflötlein 1’ (P): wide, narrow but high labium

Gedackt, medium to wide:
Untersatz 32’, Subbaß 16’ (P), 8’ (M; in southern German „Coppel“), 4’, 2’ (in smaller organs).

Bordun 32’, 16’ (P), medium width.

Quintatön 16’, 8’ (P, M), narrow, to produce the fundamental as well as harmonic 3.

d/2) conical
Spitzgedackt 8’ (secondary manuals).

d/3) semi-stopped
Rohrflöte 16’ (P), 8’; wide-cylindrical, perforated or lid with tube inserted.

e) Compound stops of differing ranks:

Cornet, Reçit, (dt.) Kornett
Cultivated particularly in French organ making, „imported“ elsewhere, fivefold 8’ (8’+4’+2²/₃’+2’+1³/₅’; harmonics 1-5), often with specific manual, on separate chest (derived from GO and placed above). Usually the fivefold Cornet has a 8’-Stopped  or Rohrflöte, a 4’ diapason; the fifth a Nasat. In smaller organ a Cornet can be a 2²/₃’ 3f. (2²/₃’+2’+1³/₅’; harmonics 3-5) without linked 8’ and 4’ rank to be chosen by the player. This „reduced“ variant permits different choices in chosing the lowest ranks like eg a Diapason 8’ instead („diapason cornet“), or a flute stop 4’ („flute cornet“), even a reed stop 8’ (Hautbois 8’ or Trompete 8’) could be used as fundament. Theoretically a Cornet can be composed from separate ranks but the amalgamation of the separate stop is remarkably preferable.

a) long

a-1) conical (expanding) resonators
Bombarde 32’, 16’ (P, GO), traditionally most prominent reed fundamental rank, especially in French organs.

Posaune/Trombone (32’, rare), 16’, 8’ (P); Equivalent zu the French „Bombarde“ in German and und (rare) italian organs; powerful reed fundament, usually with wooden resonators. In smaller organs occasionally only reed stop.

Trompete 8’, Clairon/Clarino 4’ (GO, P) metal medium-wide resonators. Prominent Solo reed stop, particularly popular in Spanish  organs, there  as 16’- to 4’- (rarely 2'-) ranks in several rows on separate manual  horizontally protruding  („Trompetería“) as well as internal. Traditional GO-stops.

Fagott (16’), 8’, (P; GO, secondary) similar to Posaune, but narrower and shorter resonators or reduced wind and softer.

Oboe/Hautbois 8’ (M) narrower and shorter and reduced volume than Trompete, occasionally with partially closed or ball-shaped bells in Oboe d' amore pattern and specific mild-sweet sound character, slightly more powerful also called „Schalmei“; important solo stop in contrast to Trompete 8’. Later as half-stop in treble combined with „Fagott“ in the bass.

Dulzian (16’), 8’, (rare 4’) (M, P) resonator beginning conically, then cylindrical, occasionally partially closed at the end. Sound not unlike „Oboe“

Zink, Kornett 2’ (P; not to be confused with the compound rank!), rather short  trumpet- oder dulzian-like resonators. Rare solo stop for melodies in P; in northern and (less frequent) central German organs. Lost popularity in the later 18th c.

a-2) cylindrical resonators

Krummhorn (16’), 8’ (M), narrow, in the Netherlands and northern Germany.

Cromorne 8’, wide, French, transferred to England ("Cremona"), central and southern Germany, there renamed„Chalumeau“/„Schalümo“ (oder similar, following a then newly-invented woodwind instrument of similar sound, for example with Silbermann, Stein, Holzhay). In spite of the similar name „Krummhorn“ and „Cromorne“ differ perceivably in sound!

Regal stops (most 8’, rarer 16’ or 4’) can reveal an enormous multitude of resonator shapes with conical expanding, contracting, cylindrical open, or partially closed shapes and segments, often different from one organ maker to the next. So it is hardly possible to give general summaries. Occasionally traditional „long“ reed stops are imitated with shortened resonators, usually with the appendix „-regal“ added (eg Trompetenregal, Tromboncini, Dulzianregal, Krummhornregal), occasionally in different shapes („Krummhorn“ cylindrical, „Krummhornregal“ in varying shape eg as a double cone). Some terms resemble the shape of the resonators themselves like „Apfelregal“ or „Knopfregal“  with bulbous ends on narrow xalindrical „stems“. Some relate to a modelinstrument (Rankett, Sordun, Geigend Regal) or describe a model sound like „Bärpfeife“ (various shapes) or „Jungfern Regal.“ The importance of regal stops waned during the 17th and 18th centuries except the stop

 Vox humana/Voix humaine 8’ (M) of different shapes, mostly conical/cylindrical with a partially closed cone at the end, important solo stop regularly used with a tremulant, occasionally in combination with another8’ stop (Hohlflöte bei Trost, Waltershausen).