Controlling seeking of a transducer includes accelerating the transducer to a seek velocity, generating a linearized switching curve defining a position and velocity of the transducer at which deceleration should begin, and controlling the velocity of the transducer in response to the current position and seek velocity of the transducer relative to the linearized switching curve. The linearized switching curve has a slope and an offset that are determined in response to the seek velocity and a current position of the transducer relative to a nonlinear switching curve.