chord thickness

Not really. Thickness AKA Gauge is only really a big deal when you start pushing a lot of wattage (thousands) through the cable. Most bass rigs will be fine with 16 or 18 gauge though some guys will swear that their 12 gauge Monster cable is the best sounding thing on earth. All that aside, technically speaking you probably wont need to worry about the gauge for most purposes. 18 is about the smallest I would go. I like 16.

 

You need to specify what kind of cable you are talking about. Is is an instrument cable or a speaker cable? It sounds like you are talking about a instrument cable. Monster cable is thicker because they make the jacketing really thick, but it amounts to nothing because the shield is still just average. I have a monster bass cable and I really don't like it, does not flex well. To big and for no reason, sounds fine though.

 

Well if you really would like to learn about Monster Cable.....

http://www.monstercable.com/pro_audio/

 

If you really want to learn about Monster Cable Marketing that is.

 

Thicker cables may not offer much of an advantage in terms of power or sound, but in my expirience they do tend to hold up to the rigors of "real life" better. You know things like getting stepped on, getting rolled over by a 100lb cabinet, getting eaten by the drummers dog, etc.