Pickguard is not touching the body completely

No, that is not normal.

 

Welcome!

No, it needs an adjustment, either around the neck, around the pickup or the screw holes are not correct and need to be adjusted. Slightly loosen the guard screws and see if it does seat correctly. If it fits correctly, place only the screws that correspond to the holes and then correct the position of the others. If it still doesn't fit, a more difficult adjustment will be necessary around neck or pickup.

 

Do the screws on either side of the hump appear to be straight, or maybe they look angled slightly?

 

Slide a pick in there so you can reach it if need it.

 

My lowly Squier came without this feature

 

The pickup has a strange angle too.

 

So I take any bass I buy to a professional luthier for initial setup. That's also a good way to have someone identify any flaws or defects. The guys and gals on the assembly line are not pro luthiers.

 

It’s warped. This is common on older instruments but should not be like this on a new one. I would try one more go. As Fernando said. But this time take it all the way off. Set it flat and massage it out. This stuff will get more flexible if you warm it up. It bends and stretches so warm it up by rubbing your palm into it. Then reinstall. Screw those 2 in first by the bent area. If you cannot get those 2 to sit flat first as you push and flex then it’s drilled or cut wrong. But you should be able to push and tweak into place. Working it around 1 screw at a time.

 

Maybe a little hair dryer applied sparingly...

 

Yes, but not in that direction. Compare the strings and the red line in my picture, they should be parallel.
I would loose all screws (also the pickup screws), bent the pickguard straight and screw in all screws without tension.

 

I wonder if the bridge side of that pickup is binding up on the guard.

 

Likely just a wire that's outside the cavity. You can fix that without even detuning.

Remove all screws on the pickguard, then slide it up and over the pickup and out from under the strings. Should give you a clearer picture.

 

You probably have a wire poking out. Something under it, is the only reason anything that is screwed to a surface, wouldn't be touching the surface.

 

He means the divet in the case.