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audio-tapered pots

#3
What? Jesus people, did the warm weather addle people's brains tonight?

"Audio taper" is not something that can be called "best" or "better" or "worse" or anything else like that until you have examined the specific application. Please Google "potentiometer taper" for an explanation of what it means. "Audio taper" is similar to "log taper", which means it starts off with a strong change in the signal, then spends most of the middle of the knob turn making smaller degrees of change, then makes stronger changes again toward the end of the knob turn. This is useful for situations where most of the range you want to control is near the middle of the knob turn. Volume knobs are often audio taper, but they don't have to be.

"Linear taper" is the other most common kind, which is completely flat-response in how it changes the signal as you turn the knob, with the same amount of change near the beginning, middle, and end of the rotation. Linear works for any and all purposes.

There are other tapers such as "reverse log", but they are much less common.

None of them are "the best", they are just different. If somebody told you they were "the best", that person was just talking out of their butt.

"Yeah, get those--because I have no idea what application it will be used in, or what it even means." :rolleyes:
 
#4
I don't think you really understand the difference...
In plain english: Audio taper pots give you a smoother response than linear for volume controls, as volume works in a logarithmic fashion. Tone controls on the other hand, which don't handle any audio (a tone control is a simple low-pass filter) work best with linear taper pots.
 
#7
bongomania said:
What? Jesus people, did the warm weather addle people's brains tonight?

"Audio taper" is not something that can be called "best" or "better" or "worse" or anything else like that until you have examined the specific application. Please Google "potentiometer taper" for an explanation of what it means. "Audio taper" is similar to "log taper", which means it starts off with a strong change in the signal, then spends most of the middle of the knob turn making smaller degrees of change, then makes stronger changes again toward the end of the knob turn. This is useful for situations where most of the range you want to control is near the middle of the knob turn. Volume knobs are often audio taper, but they don't have to be.

"Linear taper" is the other most common kind, which is completely flat-response in how it changes the signal as you turn the knob, with the same amount of change near the beginning, middle, and end of the rotation. Linear works for any and all purposes.

There are other tapers such as "reverse log", but they are much less common.

None of them are "the best", they are just different. If somebody told you they were "the best", that person was just talking out of their butt.

"Yeah, get those--because I have no idea what application it will be used in, or what it even means." :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

A very big +1.
****ing ridiculous logic to think a pot taper is better or worse. It depends entirely on application.
 
#10
The human ear hears audio in a logarithmic fashion. Audio tapers for volume pots are good for approximating the apparent volume - halfway should be half the percieved maximum volume. Audio is great if you use the volume control for swells or controlling dynamics. It gets more complicated with amp interaction, though. While linear sounds almost already "full on" past 2, it's better for fine control over voltage output - if you play through a distorted amp and want to push the input a little more or less, linear is the best option. I would stick with linear for tone knobs but it's all taste and application for volume.
 
#11
well the application, if that's what this is..maybe i'm ********.
is i'm putting together a passive j-bass made from parts.
the kind of music is funk/jazz/motown.
and no i don't/didn't understand the difference if line6mans comment was
directed towards me. that's why i came here to ask.
=]
 
#12
If you're looking for the standard approach, use audio taper for volume, linear for tone. It works well and serves most purposes. If you don't have a reason to go for linear, such as wanting increased control over a range nearly full volume or for controlling effects interaction, then you should stay with the standard.
 
#14
seems to be a well-worn topic.

audios are good for rock and blues guitar to control amp distortion with the volume knob.

for a clean bass rig, linear volumes will actually be much more even from 0 to 10.

stick with audio taper for the tone pot, though.
 
#16
Lot's of confusion here!

Per a few of the posts above that I believe got it right, and audio or log taper pot will actually 'sound linear', since a linear increase in decibels will actually be heard as non-linear (hence the DB scale is a log scale).

So, if you want smooth, 'linear sounding' volume increase through the full range of the pot, go with a non-linear or audio taper pot.

It's kind of just the opposite of what you would think (i.e., log sounds linear, and linear 'sounds log')!
 
#18
For volume pot use audio.
For tone pot use linear.
Makes sense.
But it seems to me most jazz basses use linear volume pots. Based on the, full on at one point and almost completely off the rest of the turn, type response the volume pots give.
So will audio taper volume pots effect the inherent character of say a single coil pickup if they are not what is commonly stock equipment and why wouldn't they use them all the time?

It seems a no brainer...now that I think I understand it.
 
#19
chiplexic said:
For volume pot use audio.
For tone pot use linear.
Makes sense.
But it seems to me most jazz basses use linear volume pots.
Click to expand...
:scowl:
most stock jazz basses come with audio tapers all around. the trick is to switch the volumes with linear tapers, which will turn down more slowly from "10", allowing greater control over the blend.
 
#20
walterw said:
:scowl:
most stock jazz basses come with audio tapers all around. the trick is to switch the volumes with linear tapers, which will turn down more slowly from "10", allowing greater control over the blend.
Click to expand...

Interesting. These terms must be opposite for instrument pots versus the way they are defined in the amplification world. I could be wrong, but the way you describe linear tapers is the opposite of how they should perform.

Again, log/audio tapers have the smoother, more linear sounding response as far as I understand, since again, VOLUME is heard on a non-linear scale. Linear pots, which don't take the log nature of the DB curve into account, are the ones that have very little 'play' in them.

I'm just posting this again to make sure I have that right. On an amplifier, a log/audio taper on the master volume allows for a smooth, even sounding increase in volume through a much larger percentage of the pot's travel than a linear taper, which 'jumps' much earlier.

Again, I'm not an EE and could have this wrong.
 

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