defo to do with the eq'ing more.

i spend about 6-10 hours writing the track and then more than double this tweaking all the levels and re eqing stuff. i always use at least 3 different kicks in tracks too. 1 really short one, and then two harder ones shortened down to be punchy. i also use them in 1/16th size not 1/8th as i used to and it makes a lot of difference.

also, check all the eq's on ur amp and speakers are set to 0. sounds obvious i know but may be something to check

i also burn them onto cd and listen to them on as many different systems as possible. ie: from pc, through a cdj and mixer, car stereo, lounge stereo, maybe even stick them on tape and listen to them through that medium.

for punchier kicks, turn the length of them down and turn them right up. i used to suffer much the same with the kicks sounding really farty. now i use shiort kick sounds and compress them but mainly have them louder than everything. in other words, turn all the other soundss down and the kicks up. turn the bass down low too for hard trance. and the perc only needs to be quite low as higher frequencies become louder when on different systems.

HTH

louk: how many HH etc do u use? i always have at least 4 HH in tracks. just layered underneath for the short sounding ones, and louder for the main ones. keep really tinny ones down low too.