All About Potentiometers

Namely, There are 2 main brands of potentiometers (pots) for guitar volume and tone controls.

CTS and Alpha.

The main and only real differences between the 2 (other than a super wide price gap) is build consistency and durability. Having said that, prolonged exposure with a soldering iron will still fry it.

CTS pots are very sturdy and need a bit more torque to turn than their Alpha counterparts. They're also known to last longer. (But from my experience, I have actually seen a few guitars with stock Alpha pots that are about more than 20 years old and still work great.) And no, there are no tonal differences between the two. Even if there is, it won't be noticeable to bother yourself with. 

Either brand will be fine to use for guitars and are especially great for upgrades from cheap smaller sized pots that come in stock with cheaper guitars.

Offer Rates for multiple pot replacement. (parts included)

CTS

3 knobs - $50

4 knobs - $65

Alpha

3 knobs - $25

4 knobs - $35

Linear or Audio Taper?

Linear taper is what I would strongly recommend for Tone controls as the changes are more audible and gradual. Great in any situation for most genres. But for those who like a more definitive effect, the use Audio taper.

For Volume controls: Usually the norm would be to go for Audio tapers. It's great for cleaning up a distorted guitar sound by affecting the gain signal.to a certain extent. But when played clean, the volume roll-off may be abrupt and off=putting. In which case Linear taper would be perfect for those who execute volume swells in their style of playing.

In the end, it's the player and his/her style of playing is what ultimately matters.

If you have any burning questions,  feel free to ask by posting on the wall or by email.