**killing a little time in between layouts**
the more i look at that, the more it bothers me. The upward force on that "nut" or whatever you call it has to be tremendous given the short distance between the 0th fret and the string guides, especially on the E and G string. The neck is pretty thin there and the screws don't pass through it (thankfully), so there's not a lot of wood for the screw threads to grab onto. Probably wouldn't take too much of a mistake (like overtightening a string while tuning it or stretching one to flatten it) to get the whole thing to pull right out. Putting new strings on this must be a real chore, especially the E and G strings, where you have to make a sharp bend either to the peg or string guide. I'd guess this is probably why the other strings aren't in their slots: there's not a straight shot between the slot and the string termination and the string tension is too much to keep them slotted. If this was a long scale bass, the string tension would probably be enough to overcome that whole headstock assembly and make for an interesting catastrophic failure. I'm no luthier (i don't even play one on TV) but anytime you have a string have to bend in a sharp angle is trouble. That probably explains all the scratches in the area between the 0th fret and the contraption. Pretty sure you'd be risking several pokes in the finger with a sharp string end while trying to thread one through that nightmare.
so - at $11899 USD, we have yet another shining example of a high-priced pig in a poke. good luck to the seller, hope ya didn't pay too much for that fine example of craftsmanship. But i'll bet you did. you'd probably be better off parting in out. imho, of course.
