These potentiometer aren't abundant, and this is my first one, so i won't compare it to anything. I haven't done the something either, so I don't know if the design is any bad. What I can say for sure, that this thing works perfectly. Sturdy, no cracking or additional noise. I'm using it for about 4 years and nothing has changed, even though our kids like to fiddling with it as well. If you need a switchable potentiometer, don't look any further.