Register Stop Classifications
The pitch of a single bank of reeds is traditionally defined in a similar manner to the organ stops of a pipe organ. A bank that sounds at unison pitch when keys are depressed is called 8'; (pronounced "eight-foot") pitch: alluding to the length of the lowest-sounding organ pipe in that rank, which is approximately eight feet. For the same reason, a stop that sounds an octave higher is at 4' pitch, and one that sounds an octave lower than unison pitch is at 16' pitch.
Most reed registers are normally in relative octave tuning, but rarely, some instruments have a reed bank tuned to a Fifth relative to the 8' stop (or some octave of that). This is a similar arrangement to stops for a pipe organ.
| Icon | Classification | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 4' stop | This is the highest reed rank. Not all accordions will have this reed rank. | |
| 8' stop | This is the basic middle reed rank. It is one octave lower than a 4' reed rank. | |
| 8' stop | This is another middle reed rank, the upper tremolo rank. It is usually tuned slightly higher than the basic middle reed rank. Not all accordions may have this reed rank. | |
| 8' stop | This is another middle reed rank, the lower tremolo rank. It is usually tuned slightly lower than the basic middle reed rank. Usually only included on special "musette accordions". | |
| 16' stop | This is the lowest and deepest-sounding reed rank in the reed chamber. It is one octave lower than an 8' reed rank. |
To hear how these sound on their own, see the first three rows of the table below.
Read more about this topic: Accordion Reed Ranks And Switches
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