Yes, the scaling is different. Both types will give you full volume or tone at 10 and no volume/full tone roll off at 0 (or 1 if it has Fender style knobs). But in-between, the result will be different.
The A and B pot designations for log/audio taper and linear taper respectively weren’t always universal and in large parts of the world, A was linear and B log. Which didn’t matter much when pot production was in the same country as your business and you chose accordingly. But once globalisation and cheap mass-production took effect and components were sourced from all over the globe, buying some A type pots from one country and B type from another and finding them both the same type became problematic and so standardisation occurred. But there may still be some places using the old designations (or at least believing that A is linear and B is log). The manufacturer’s own internal codes for the taper types can also be quite at variance with the norm, so when buying your own pots, check the description or the manufacturer’s data sheets to be sure.
The ear doesn’t hear volume in a linear manner, but logarithmically. So to match that, a volume pot taper needs to be logarithmic. If it’s linear, then you hear very little volume reduction to start with and then it’s all bunched up in the last few degrees of the knob turning. Log makes it a lot smoother and progressive, with more happening in the 10 down to 8 region. Both will work, and it comes down to how you use the volume control (if at all) apart from fully on/fully off mode. If you like to drop the volume just a bit, then linear will give you more control getting to 1/2 volume as that will be at the 5 position, and probably between 8.5 and 8 with a log pot (there are lots of different log curves available). But if you like to quickly nudge the volume pot with your little finger (especially on a Strat) to switch between rhythm and lead levels, then log will be your friend. The general recommendation is for log for volume, but it’s not mandatory.
For tone, it’s more of a personal choice. Linear is the choice of some manufacturers, log for others. I prefer log as it gives more audible tone changing effect over a wider range of pot travel. With linear, most of the tone change is in the lower reaches of the pot travel, say 3 and below. With log, that’s stretched out more to say 7 and below. So linear gives you more control over very subtle tone changes, until you hit the point when it becomes very unsubtle.
I don’t like extreme tone changes and the muddy sound you get with the tone on 0 with the standard capacitor choices, so I tend to fit 0.015uF tone caps on my guitars. Along with log pots, this gives me a much more useful tone control. But it is all down to what you prefer. It’s certainly worth trying some different cap values. They will make almost no difference with the tone control fully up, only when it’s in use.
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