@Another User said:
Errrr .... I'm not sure that I understand the question correctly. 8-) Judging from your wording it seems that you mis-take the sound emanation patterns shown in the General Purpose Profiles as microphone characteristics. That's not the case - actually it's exactly the other way 'round: These patterns try to give you a visual idea how the sound dispersion of the source signal will take place in relation to the Icon's main axis (i.e. the volume handle, a.k.a. "the player's nose" 😉 ...). They tell nothing about mic capsules.
The default cardioid pattern might be a good choice for many sources (lots of sound to the front, less to the sides, the top and the bottom, almost nothing towards the back). Still it's a good idea to give other General Purpose Profiles a try for less (or even no) directivity of the source signal's sound, or maybe more directivity when you want to high-ligtht certain aspects of the Venue, e.g. distinctive reflections from a side-wall, to increase the perceived depth of the space.
You're correct, I misinterpreted what the General Purpose profile's names are alluding to. I thought, because of their names, they were meant to be some kind of microphone simulation. Now that I think about it, that doesn't make much sense, as you don't need to simulate a sample set that is...well, recorded with a microphone :) It makes much more sense that they refer to the simulated directivity of the source signal. I'll try slapping more directive profiles on the sopranos and wider profiles on the basses (given the directivity of treble and bass frequencies) and see what that does!
Thanks, as always, for the clarification and help! I'm sure I'll have more questions in the future; this program is a godsend, but it's also teaching me more about recording and acoustics than I ever thought I'd delve into...
- Sam