Tone Pot: Linear or Audio Taper?

[datru]

Thinking of upgrading some electronics. Volume control should obviously be an audio taper, but what about the tone pot?

 

Thanks.

[Teletypist]

You got it backwards. Vol=Linear, Tone=Audio. Usually - your app may vary.

[Ratae Corieltauvorum]

 

You got it backwards. Vol=Linear, Tone=Audio. Usually - your app may vary.

 

 

The OP had it correct:cop:

 

However in general most modders use taper for vol and tone

[imbuedblue]

YMMV. Pots are cheap. Try both.

[datru]

 

The OP had it correct:cop: However in general most modders use taper for vol and tone

 

 

Umm, modders use which taper?

[BoneNut]

I prefer audio taper on all four pots.

 

[YOUTUBE]RdfIZEB2rdM[/YOUTUBE]

[john_p_t]

I just tried out audio taper for both in my Tele, and it's great on the tone, but reduces the usefulness of the volume pot for me. Am going to switch it for a linear taper pot soon.

[Teletypist]

 

The OP had it correct:cop: However in general most modders use taper for vol and tone

 

 

Open up your control cavity and look at the pot markings. They almost always have an "A" or "B" prefix or suffix. "A"=audio taper, "B"=linear taper.

[datru]

 

 

 

This was a very helpful video. This guy has a whole bunch posted on Youtube regarding electronics.

 

Thanks!

[scolfax]

I accidentally used a linear taper for the tone control on my Ibanez RG and it really didn't work. It was full-on from 2-10, and totally muddy at 1.

[john_p_t]

 

Open up your control cavity and look at the pot markings. They almost always have an "A" or "B" prefix or suffix. "A"=audio taper, "B"=linear taper.

 

 

Actually, sometimes they are marked the other way around, for some very obscure reason. It's certainly not a reliable indicator. Stupid, I know.

[john_p_t]

Actually, sorry, that's not quite right.

 

The old marking scheme was A=Linear, C=Log.

 

At some point, the standard became B=Linear, A=log.

 

And both standards are still in fairly wide use. Helpful, eh?

 

A few manufacturers do the sensible thing and avoid this whole cluster{censored} by marking them LIN and LOG, but I've only seen that very rarely.

[alphamarquis]

all you need is an ohmmeter. :-

[Teletypist]

 

Actually, sometimes they are marked the other way around, for some very obscure reason. It's certainly not a reliable indicator. Stupid, I know.

 

 

There are different component identifications. However, in the past few decades if the A or B identifiers are used they have been consistent. I have / had a lot of gear - all have been consistent in the usage "when stock".

 

There's another deal to the discusion, more technical. The volume control, certainly with passive circuits, should be linear. Going from 10 to 9 should be a 10% reduction, not 26%. The tone control is a different deal. It works as a combination of resistance (the pot) and capacitance (that pesky cap). That is not a linear function and using a audio taper pot gives a smoother response curve.

 

Having said that, sometimes designers use a different approach if they're dealing with active preamps. Usually just on the volume control. But it's still a case of going out of their way just to "different".

[datru]

Here's the video regarding tone pot taper comparison:

 

[YOUTUBE]7ANG3OrL5HI[/YOUTUBE]

[axegrinder]

I accidentally used a linear taper for the tone control on my Ibanez RG and it really didn't work. It was full-on from 2-10, and totally muddy at 1.

I purposely did the same thing after reading an article discussing the merits of linear controlled tone. Same result...an $8 mistake.

[inkblot]

I use audio taper on both volume and tone. The tone pot still controls volume, if only for a limited range of frequencies.

[EADGBE]

I like audio taper for all passive volume and tone controls.

[milosch]

Audio taper pots are certainly used for volume controls in general. The point of this being that volume is logarithmic, .i.e. what is twice as loud is much less than twice the signal. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decibel.

[Hurtzher]

Where in the world can you find the mini CTS audio taper pots? I have looked a few places with no success. It would be handy for a few of my guitars where the manufacturer has placed the pot very close to the inner wall of the control cavity (for example, this was true for a Carvin DC127 I had).

[Ratae Corieltauvorum]

 

Where in the world can you find the mini CTS audio taper pots? I have looked a few places with no success. It would be handy for a few of my guitars where the manufacturer has placed the pot very close to the inner wall of the control cavity (for example, this was true for a Carvin DC127 I had).

 

 

Allparts or their resellers

 

http://www.allparts.com/500K-Pots-s/20.htm