Y'know, I've soldered a heck of a lot of wires since I was a young kid, but I never was good at it and I just don't want to do it anymore. It's like changing the oil in my car - it's one of those chores that I'd rather pay someone else to do. Lots of people feel different I know. I've got a lifetime of cheap cords lying around that work in a pinch but for my stage rig I really don't mind spending a little more for quality especially if it's exactly what I need, but I'm not buying those damn gold-plated Monster cables from Radio Shack either. There's got to be a mid-range: better quality cables that aren't too fancy but ain't cobbled-together, dog-chewed relics either. Homemade ain't for me. I'm looking forward to seeing if the custom cables I ordered from Redco are good... if so I'll just order from them or someone like them.