a modest proposal...

[David Halliday (Volt Computer)]

With the discussion about favorite patching technologies ( 1/4, 1/8,
banana, etc... )

It just occurred to me that telephone jacks might be viable. 

They are cheap ( the plugs are about $0.20 and the jacks are about $0.75
to $1.20 )
The crimping tool makes it really easy to make cords of any length
With the multiple conductors, balanced pairs are easy to do
They support up to 8 lines
Color coded jacks and plugs are available