the comment about using too much eq and ending up with the kick sounding like it's broken into two parts is gold. :clap: it's happened to me when i've been too zealous in trying to drive out the mud and it's very frustrating.

the only thing i have to add is that both eq and compression are better done in the context of the mix (as with all sounds, really). a kick that sounds great by itself will often sound muddy in the mix, taking up too much room. if your track has parts with the kick very exposed, it might be a good idea to eq/compress those parts seperately from the parts where it is working under a fuller sound to avoid compromising too much.