Sometimes you have to try figure out if a pot has a linear taper or an audio/log taper. It’s pretty easy to do if you have a multimeter.

• If the pot is in-circuit, it’s probably safest to remove the hook-up wires. Sometimes you can get weird readings through other components in the circuit and it’s good practice to remove the pot from the rest of the circuit wiring before testing.
• Pop your meter onto the Ohms setting (Ω).
• Check the pot’s total resistance by measuring between the two outside lugs. Note this. It’s the total resistance and doesn’t change.
• Switch one of the meter probes from the outside lug to the middle lug (doesn’t really matter which one). Now you’re measuring the resistance between one end of the resistive track and the wiper. This resistance will vary depending on the wiper’s position.
• Set the pot knob to the middle of its travel (i.e. the ‘5/10’ position) and check the resistance reading.
• If the resistance is close to half the total value, you’ve got a linear taper pot. It won’t be exact because it’s really hard to place that knob exactly half-way but, if it’s pretty close, that’s good enough to tell
• If the resistance is way off half of the total, you’re dealing with a log/audio taper.