thanks dirty...my problem has definately been in the eq of bass. I knew to sidechain to kick so that the bass ducks, but i hadn't considered eqing out totally the frequencies taken up by the kick...

I genererally cut out the freq. below 60Hz for bass with a pretty hard slope, and I try not to cut the highs out of the bass because it seems without the high bass freq. you lose presence.

what freq. do you allow for your kicks? mine probably sit most around 150-250Hz most of the time. sometimes lower for more rumble...i guess it all depends on what your go'n for.