Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I just bought a '71 Fender Bronco on Ebay. The amp arrived looking
pretty good and fully functional, except for a slight "buzz/rattle" at
higher volume and lower register notes.
The back panels were reversed, so I took off the top to switch with the
bottom. Was I ever surprised: No fuse, no fuse holder at all, just a
hole where it should be! Again, it works OK. It must be wired to bypass the fuse...
What are the safety issues involved in playing through this amp?

It isn't safe to use if the fuse was wired out.

Thanks, Don. Any ideas on how to rectify this situation?

Put a fuse and holder in the hole and wire the black lead from the wall plug cable through the fuse. Without a fuse, if you start to get a shock, nothing but the wall 15 or 20 amp fuse/breaker is between you and serious injury or death, and you'll lose. Also, any internal fault with the amp will become a catastrophic failure before that wall fuse/breaker blows, instead of a one or two part failure.