A set of jacks plucking very close to the end of the string yields a very brassy, nasal sound. This type of register, called a lute stop, was first used in Germany in the 16th century and later spread to Flanders and to England, where it was added to the normal three registers on two-manual instruments. It did not have its own set of strings but, rather, plucked those of one of the existing unison registers. In England the lute stop plucked the same set of strings as the set of jacks operated by both keyboards; but, because the lute-stop jacks rested only on the upper-manual keys, they could also be used to provide a completely independent register on the upper manual. It was thus possible to play pièces croisées by taking off the unison register controlled by both manuals, using the lute stop for the upper manual and leaving the lower manual with its own unison register. Many harpsichords of all countries were also equipped with a buff stop (sometimes also called a lute stop), a device that presses pieces of soft leather against one of the sets of unison strings, producing a muted, pizzicato tone.

In Germany in the 18th century, harpsichords were made with still more strings and jacks for each key. Some had three unison strings in addition to an octave string; some had two unisons, an octave, and a suboctave (or 16-foot) register; and some even had a 2-foot register, with very short strings tuned two octaves above the unisons. Harpsichords with three keyboards were apparently built throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, although only one authentic three-manual harpsichord is known today.

It should be emphasized, however, that the harpsichord of the 16th–18th centuries normally had only one or two keyboards and only two or three sets of strings and jacks per note. In the 16th and early 17th centuries, one-manual instruments usually had only two registers (either two unisons or a unison and an octave) with or without a buff stop; in the second half of the 17th century a second unison register became common, increasing the number of jacks and strings to three per note. Two-manual instruments, likewise, had no more than three sets of strings (two unisons and an octave) and three sets of jacks throughout the 17th century. In the 18th century, a fourth row of jacks was sometimes added. In Britain and Flanders, this row was the close-plucking lute stop; in France, if a fourth row was added, it was placed behind the other three and equipped with plectra of soft buff leather that provided a gentle, flutey tone, which was highly prized in the rather decadent period of the harpsichord’s decline. Until the last half of the 18th century, it was usually possible to change registers only by moving knobs at the side of the instrument or above the keyboards, which could be done only when one hand or the other was not playing. This fact and the surviving written evidence suggests that the harpsichordists of earlier times changed registers relatively infrequently, avoiding monotony of sound by relying on variations of touch and the changes of texture and pitch level written into the music.

Italy

The thin-cased style of harpsichord construction appears to have been developed in Italy about 1500, and it rapidly influenced the design of harpsichords throughout the rest of Europe. The strings of the Italian harpsichords were rather short, with the strings for c″ (C above middle C) generally being about 10 inches (25 centimetres) long on instruments tuned to what is today considered normal pitch. On some Italian harpsichords, however, the strings for c″ are about 14 inches (36 centimetres) long; it is thought that these were tuned to a pitch a fourth below that of the shorter-strung ones, the key for C sounding what today would be the G below. The comparatively short strings imposed a relatively low tension on the case of the Italian harpsichord, allowing it to hold up with so light a structure.

In general, Italian harpsichords had only one keyboard with two rows of jacks and two strings tuned in unison or unison and octave. The fragile Italian instruments were normally housed in thick outer cases of softwood, which were either painted or covered with stamped leather. The cases, in turn, rested on separate legs or elaborate stands. The tone of these lightly constructed instruments is surprisingly loud and penetrating, making them ideal as accompanying instruments in an orchestra and suiting them perfectly to the rattling scale passages typical of Italian harpsichord music.