Agreed, that little brass doo-hickey behind the nut was the biggest risk. It's hard to say without pulling it offa' there what the jam-sammich lay under, and no guarantee you'll be any better informed once you do, just based on the assumption that anyone who would screw a pickguard to an Alembic can't be trusted to make many good choices. The other side of that coin is, there can't be much under there that couldn't be undone. Even if it involved the end of the truss rods, the fingerboard is totally dorked anyway, so it was coming off, and I was going to be likely adding a front and back laminate to the headstock anyway. (to help Mica unsee that hole!)
Like I said, it was a big job to put it right, and I adjusted my offer accordingly. For $1100, I'm happy to watch from the sidelines and cheer.
