Alan,
What ? That voids the warranty ??? If the brass rods fit ( yes--I have seen that too), they must be the "correct size" !
FYI--Either AMi, or RockOla did use a brass rod in a fuseholder on one model--It was done as a re-design, in which they had moved the fuse in the circuit, and had units pre made--so they just cut a brass rod and inserted it--and stuck a sticker on the chassis saying what had been done(said something like "rod inserted--this fuse moved to xxx chassis")--can't recall which model that was-- Ron Rich