......and that's what get's confusing, because the answer is actually "yes". As has been pointed out by others (thanks!)
Pre-64 they were all without the relief holes.
From Page 100 of "The Fender Bass" an Illustrated History (by JW Black and Albert Molinaro)
So, reality is-----these having no relief holes is actually "period-correct".
Functionality-wise our belief is that at worst, it
may over time cause the gear to be a bit harder to turn....but a little oil should fix it right up.
Now.......to the Sting model in particular, the answer....from our city of cubicles in Scottsdale Arizona...(where more than 2 or 3 models per cube is kinda frowned upon....) is that it may possibly be "both".
As we see on this thread, it appears that most do not have the relief-holes, but we're going to check it out to be sure......meaning....we're going to track a couple down and have a look for ourselves.
As others have also pointed out on this thread....its not a big thing to resolve.....and if it REALLY bothered someone, I probably wouldn't be adverse to seeing what we could do for a customer.
As for my good friend and colleague Jordan, my answer here is similar to my answer in the thread someone linked (pooh-wise). He is trying very hard to be definitive for his callers, in what he is discovering to be a fairly non-definitive world of wood, metal and varying specs. He expressed the bottom line well....which is: if it's really bothering you, and it's a reasonable request all things considered...we'll see what we can figure out.
Hope y'all have a good Friday-----Weekend!
All the best,
rob
