Maude

All Cried Out - Alison Moyet

Generally speaking your G string saddle will be the furthest forwards (towards the neck), the D,A & E will need progressively more string length to correctly intonate. Therefore set your G saddle on nearly it's furthest reach (towards the neck), I say nearly as I always leave some spare adjustment forwards in case of any mis-measuring or string anomalies. On a Fender style bridge leaving about a saddles width of thread sticking out of the saddle should be fine, just in case. Then sit your bridge with 34" (if that's the scale of this bass) between the G string nut slot and saddle. Measure from the fretboard side of the nut. Others may do it differently but I've yet to have this method fail on me yet. I'd also use a peice of thin string, even cotton, to make an E and G string to ensure the bridge is aligned properly with the neck.

Grinding Halt - The Cure

Some Candy Talking - The Jesus And Mary Chain

Quite. I'd also expect a set up to be part of having a neck shim, especially at that price. You can't shim a neck and then not set it up, well you can if you just don't care, but I wouldn't want anyone like that working on my basses anyway. It almost sounds like he's priced the job out of the water as he doesn't want to do it. If you (the OP) really don't feel able to do the job then that's fair enough, but it really is a string of simple, small jobs, rather than a big, daunting task. Any number of folks on here will be more than happy to walk you through it oe step at a time. Best of luck whatever route you choose. 🙂👍

New Dawn Fades - Joy Division

You shouldn't have to force the trussrod nut, you'll end up rounding out the hex hole or worse snapping something. It's worth giving the neck a little physical help when tightening a stiff trussrod. Place the bass (string side) against a sofa or something, brace with your lower leg and gently, I said gently 😉, prise the neck backwards, then turn the trussrod to hold it in this position. It takes the stress off the threads while adjusting Was about to say nut slots should be slanted but @PaulThePlughas just covered it. I'll leave Paul to talk you through everything as it'll just get confusing with too many chipping in. 🙂👍

The nut does look quite high. Are the new higher gauge strings sitting at the bottom of the nut slots, or do they need widening slightly?

I was about to say the same as @PaulThePlugabout shimming it wrong, but you appear to have put a sensible sized shim in the the right place. This shim should have angle the neck backwards so you must have a crazy amount of relief in the neck to get that string height. I'm thinking maybe you've just gone to extremes out of desperation and possibly, although you have a huge string gap, the string when fretted is hitting on the end of the fretboard as the bridge is low. Imagine a straight line between nut and saddle that sits just above the last fret. With too much much relief, when fretted in the middle of the board the string will now hit that fret. It's hard to say without seeing the bass in the flesh, but I'd be inclined to straighten the neck and remove the shim and start from scratch.

Our Lips Are Sealed - Fun Boy Three

Hot For Teacher - Van Halen

The Jack That House Built - Jack'n'Chill

You, er, wouldn't happen to have this week's winning lottery numbers as well by any chance. 😁

Tied Up Too Tight - Hard-Fi

There's bolt on necks and bolt on necks too though. This is a lot more elegant and smooth transition than the standard Fender P join. Yamaha BBPH.

Judy in Disguise - John Fred and his Playboy Band

At the risk of a very boring answer to the original question. If it matters to you then yes, if not, no. As with all things in life, different people want different things, it doesn't necessarily make one better than the other.

Pillbox Tales - The Cure

I'm beginning to think that this is a good little earner. Safe as houses as nobody in any kind of position of upholding the law seems to give two hoots about stopping it. I could make good money from the comfort of my own home with absolute impunity. Sure beats working hard. Warning: This post includes sarcasm.

Ideally the measurement should be to the G string saddle on nearly its minimum adjustment (ie towards the neck), nearly as it will allow a little room for error. The other strings will need longer string runs to intonate properly. @dajaphonics take a look down the neck and see if it looks straight, or has a concave or convex bow. If someone has been adjusting it but doesn't really know what they're doing then it might be as simple as loosening the trussrod to get some bow back in the neck, and give you some string relief. The neck wants to be a little concaved at the front, as if the headstock is pulling forwards, this will allow your strings to oscillate freely. If it's already got some bow then, as mentioned before, it might need a neck shim to angle the neck forwards. No need to worry about measurements just yet.

Apply Some Pressure* - Maximo Park *To the brake pedal 😉

I've absolutely fallen for a bass but a ludicrous price tag means it'll never happen. The Sienna Burst Peavey T40 in The Bass Gallery. I believe it's Dave Swift's, owned from new and in exceptional condition. But £1500 for a T40. Oh bloody hell it's a looker though. 😕

The action looks to be very low, which would give you your fret buzz and strings hitting the fretboard, could also be the cause of your weak E string as it might be too close to the pickup and the magnet could be 'grabbing' the string. From your pictures I can't see why a proper set up couldn't fix most/all the problems. Don't go filing frets down to change intonation, it won't change anything. How confident/competent are you in doing a set up if guided through the steps? Each adjustment should be done in an order or you just end up chasing problems round in circles.

If you want to dip your toe into the short scale pond and you like a Precision then getting a second hand Ibanez Talman TMB30 might be a good idea. They're only £170 new so should be able to find a second hand one for about £100. Very Precision like neck, PJ pickups and absolutely belting given the price. Quite weighty though but it would give you an idea if a short scale is what you want, then move it on for the same money, or keep it.

Liar - Sex Pistols