pickup height and fundamental tone

[jerrod]

I have a quick and hopefully not stupid question. I recently bought an SRX470 (dual humbucker) and after a bit of playing took it back to the shop for a setup. I mentioned that the neck pickup seemed to be a bit to powerful. After I got the bass back I noticed that it was lower and while the balance seems a bit better the overtones seem to overwhelm the fundamental, especially on the D and G string. I get a beat or two of fundamental but that seems to be about it. After that it's all overtone. Is this something that can be affected by pickup height?

[Johnny Crab]

YES.
Pickup height is VERY important.
Also because of its position, the neck pickup will give you most all of your fundamental(or "better" fundamental).
The chart down this page is aimed at guitars but is correct for bass also IMO
Guitar Maintenance 6

You should also post your question here with fellow Ibanez owners:
Soundgear Series - Ibanez Forum

Pickup setup here?
Raise the rear(bridge) pickup very close to the strings with the D-G side slightly closer than the E-A side. Play the bass and compare that volume to my other basses(my pre-amp is set up so I play close to distortion. Play normal = clean, play hard = distortion). Adjust accordingly.
Next, set the neck pickup height so its output is similar or slightly louder than the bridge pickup. Play again comparing neck to bridge and checking output to make sure it is not distorting when I play normally.

Using the above, I've had basses that sound horribly weak and had no "soul" come alive once the pickups were raised to match my preamp.

You should learn to do this yourself as it is really easy AND allows you to adjust any bass you get to suit YOUR sound and playing technique.

Video(Fender jazz):
Episode 2 - Adjusting your pickup height - YouTube

[jerrod]

Thank you sir!