ABG under saddle pickup problem

I have a fairly new Ibanez AVNB2E short scale acoustic that has a very loud E string when amplified. I examined the pickup today and found that the wire braid over the pickup is severely worn under the higher strings. See pictures. I was told by a GC tech that lower compression causes a higher volume which I though was counter intuitive. In any case, my guess is the lower strings might be under higher compression because the braid is thicker on that end. Or maybe the braid is meant to "spread the load" so the higher strings with less braid are more compressed (and therefore quieter). In any case, doesn't this likely in some way account for the volume problem and should be replaced? I did a google image search for "under saddle pickup" and don't see them with wire braid - normally they have a conformal coating like a shrink wrap or liquid plastic dipped look (not sure what it's called). Looking for any advice or comments on this. I'm in touch with Sweetwater and hope they will fix it since I've only had the bass about 3 months.

 

Thanks Warpeg. I previously sanded the bottom edge of the saddle flat but at that time I didn't closely look at the pickup. The saddle was a little rough and may have caused the wear on the wire braid. The bottom of the cavity looks very flat. The guitar has Fishman electronics but not sure about the pickup.

I'm not sure how these pickups plug into the preamp. Is it likely wired (soldered) or is there a standard connector? I guess I should point my phone inside and take a few pics.