1/4" come in two flavors TRS (Tip Ring Sleeve) and TS (Tip Sleeve). If you look at a 1/4" jack (male) around your house (a stereo one) you'll notice it has two black lines (one thicker than the other). If you go to a audio store you'll find plenty of 1/4" jacks which have only one black line. If you can check out a Hosa cable (especially a Y cable) you'll find some that have a black and red jack labeled Tip and Ring. Notice the Red & Black (think car battery) and you'll notice that the Red (Right) is the positive side and the black (left) is the negative side.
So, the Tip is the Negative, the Ring is the Positive and the Sleeve is the ground. The XLR connector will give you a more secure connection and hence the reason most people go with the XLR for mics. However, you can use an XLR to TRS without any issues. The whole monologue above was to explain what Sockz was trying to warn you about.
One more tidbit. Patch cables are usually TS (mono).
