Alps “Blue Velvet” (RK27) 50k Ohm Audio Taper Dual/Stereo Potentiometer (50KAX2)

Description

this was pulled from a Creek 5050 integrated amplifier, so it is not from China. it was lightly used even though it is about 30 years old.
i know this, because several friends bought 5050s from me or because of my recommendation.
David gave me his after mishandling its repair. many 5050s failed prematurely because of faulty speaker relays. the issue was so common, the importer (Music Hall) graciously extended warranty coverage. but David's 5050 failed after this grace period ended because he didn't use it that often.
at that time, all authorized Creek repairs were performed by a service business in New York City. David paid the usual estimate fee, but refused to pay for the repair. he asked them to sell him the speaker relays so he could perform the repair himself. they refused, and returned his 5050 without reassembling it!
so he gave it to me, and i salvaged this potentiometer thinking i would use it someday. there may have been one opportunity, but i think that circuit needs 100k instead of 50k. in any case, it's (long past) time to move on.
a few notes about this potentiometer, especially its names:
* Alps is not an acronym, so it should be spelled accordingly
* there was a larger model known as Black Beauty (RK40) so some people mistakenly call this Blue Beauty
* they renamed this series RK271 (“High performance potentiometer with excellent operational feel”)
* in the current series, this potentiometer would have part number RK27112A0-S25-C0-A503
+ 12A = dual/stereo, without detent
+ S25 = slotted 25mm shaft (vs. 27mm for most of this series)
+ C0 = without detent (for sure)
+ A503 = audio taper, 50k ohms
* this can be mounted on a PCB, but it was removed from a Creek 5050's face (obviously)
authentic 50k Blue Velvet potentiometers (i.e. made in Japan) are a bit rare. for example, Mouser does not stock any, and their minimum order is 500 with lead time of 16 weeks!
meanwhile, this costs less than ones shipped from China and i will mail it from Chicago :-)