Thanks so much for the reply and all of the insight Waz! Very much appreciated! You're right about the fretboard of course. It does overhang the neck and does cover the gap. I won't worry so much about it then. I have actually picked up a bunch of upgrade components already and was considering replacing that nut. I got a decent deal on a pair of Duncan Phase II passive soapbars, a Hipshot Kickass 5 bridge and some Hipshot tuners as well! May as well switch that nut out, eh? Lol... Will definitely consider your advice regarding the control cavity but I thought that it was a volume, volume, tone configuration in there. I do have a line on a Yorkville Explorer Bass hardshell case that I've already ordered. I'm hopeful that it will fit as the shape of the body is pretty traditional as explorers go. I'll let you know how that works out in case you may want to import one.
Cheers! Mitch