Pot taper

The way a potentiometer's resistance changes as the shaft is turned, described as audio taper or linear taper.

An audio taper pot changes slowly at first and then quickly, matching the way hearing perceives loudness, so the volume control feels even across its travel. A linear taper pot changes resistance proportionally, which in a volume position makes most of the useful change happen in the first quarter turn and leaves the rest of the sweep nearly useless. Many tone controls use linear taper because they are perceived differently, and players swapping pots often care more about taper than about value.

Example: A guitar whose volume drops off smoothly from ten down to one has an audio taper pot rather than a linear one.

Pot taper

See also