Where is a pot more effective - volume or tone control?

[tonfarbe]

So i've got 4 new 500k pots to rewire an ES-335 copy.
The values of the pots range from 460k to 550k.

My 'problem' with dual humbucker guitars is, that the hb in the neck position often sounds too dark/wooly
while the hb in the bridge postion produces these shrill/annoying higher mids.
So I want to use the 2 pots with the higher values for the tone and volume controls of the neck pickup to give it
as much brightness as possible while using the 2 lower value pots to tame the bridge hb.

My question is: Where is the value of a pot more effective?
Let's say I have one pot with 550k and one with 510k. Where (in the neck pickup controls) should I use the 550k pot for maximum results?
As a volume pot or as a tone pot?

[LocustPlague]

Honestly, those differences are probably too minimal to notice. The taper will, without a doubt, have some variations (they're only +/- 10%). I'd say there might be an experiment to be had if you had, say, one 1Meg pot and a 500K...but in that case, I'd just buy two to get what you seem to want.

[uOpt]

There's no way you can hear that little difference with the pots full open.

If they aren't full open then the curve will be pretty much random by vendor anyway.

[Mr. B]

Now, I could well be shot down for being wrong here, but I would use the highest value pot as the tone control for you neck pickup. The difference may not be noticable, but it might just give the neck position the prod you're looking for.
Failing that, you could try a 1meg pot as the neck pickup's tone control, and if that's too bright, use a resistor to bring it's value down until you find a sweet spot.

[Astro1176]

On my strat I just swapped the 250k tone pots for 250k no load - ie infinite resisatance when set on brightest setting. This took the veil off the sound and brightened it up.

Basically, the lower the resistance of the tone pot, the more the sound is filtered even when the tone is 'off' and in the brightest setting. To brighten the guitar you want more resistance.

I don't know if you would get the same results with 500k and humbuckers, at some level of resistance the difference will become inaudible. You can convert normal pots to no-load if you don't mind taking them apart.