The connectors
on the ESDI drive appear to be the same as MFM
so I am assuming that I can use MFM cables.
I always did, but cannot assure you it would be correct.
I am pretty sure you must use an untwisted 34-pin cable. Neither the IBM
floppy drive twist nor the ST506 hard drive twist will work with ESDI drives.
Other than that, they're just straight-through ribbon cables.
-tony