There is one rule on adjusting the height of the pickups: don't break the pickups by adjusting improperly. Make sure you read about the
springless pickup height in the manual first.
The pickups look close the height we use on a new setup for a bass with one preamp. This is because the neck pickup will be louder than the bridge pickup since it's up where the string moves more. So we set the heighth lower than the softer bridge pickup and the pan/blend control doesn't have significant volume change as you go between the pickups.
However, there's nothing that says you have to do it that way. It's very difficult to describe the difference in sound that changing the pickup heighth produces, though you'll surely be able to hear a difference. We think the best thing to do is to leave it alone if you're satisfied, or explore if you're not or even if you're just curious - you can always set the heighths back to where they were.
As far as relief goes, most players seem to benefit from at least some small relief in the neck. This is a broad generalization of course. There's many players who like a perfectly straight neck too. It's more dependent on your individual technique and the force you impart on the strings when you play.
All this is probably not much help, since I just want you to experiment on your own and come to your own conclusions since every player is different. Others will likely give you some advice based on their own experiences.
And I do think you're right about the woods, Frank. It's a nice piece of Mahogany on the back.
