Thank you again to those actually wanting to help. The snobs and smug keyboard warriors are an unfortunate and bored inevitability of internet forums (good, there's room for their mental growth just like my severely lacking bass knowledge base).
I did not bring it to the shop to set it up today because I want to mess around on it myself more, as well as play it. Honestly might want to get thicker strings for it too before I set it up. But I played it through an amp (multiple amps and an amp sim actually) and there's something that has popped up that I don't think is normal (although it might be - have at it, trolls).
There's a slight (somewhat soft but very noticeable) pop around 9.5/10 when moving my neck pickup knob (going either direction). I'm certain it's from the pickup (like you all probably are) as it sounds like when you flick the tone control switch on a 6 string electric. Also because the bridge pickup knob does the same thing, only much, much quieter (barely audible). I do expect some sort of noise since it's a passive bass, but not something that stands out like that, especially considering how the bridge pickup knob doesn't do it that badly.
But on top of that there's quite a large tonal difference between 9.5-10 and 9, much more than I think there should be. At 9.5-10 it sounds like you'd expect a (Sire) Jazz clone to sound with both pickups and volume maxed. Along 0 to 9.5 it also does sound mostly like what I'd expect it to with significantly less neck pickup, it's just that the tonal jump from 9 to 9.5 (and vice versa) seems way too drastic, almost like a different bass altogether; 9 sounds like what I'd expect 3-5 to sound like. Is this normal enough for Jazz basses and their clones??? Because I wouldn't expect so.
