Double-click the desktop icon to launch your digital workstation, such as Mixcraft, Logic, Cubase or Pro Tools.
Open the "File" menu and select "Open Recent." Select from the drop-down menu the session containing the snare that lacks impact. This opens the entire recording session in a mixer interface. This interface approximates the layout of a hardware mixer that you'd use in a recording studio, complete with gain fader and equalization dials.
Click on the snare channel strip to highlight. This assigns your next command to this channel only, as opposed to the global mix.
Open the effects menu. The method for doing so varies slightly according to which digital audio workstation you use, but typically you click "Effects" or the "Plugins" menu.
Click on "Compressor." This effect enables you to reduce the range of the dynamics in the audio. By doing so, you temper any volume spikes and reduce the peak volume. Once the peak volume is reduced, you can boost the base volume higher without causing distortion. This creates a more punchy, immediate and impacting sound.
Adjust the "Threshold" setting to approximately 80 percent. This means any sound in the highest 20 percent of volume will be reduced.
Adjust the "Ratio" setting to determine by how much the sound is reduced. For example, a ratio of 4:1 means any sound in the loudest 20 percent is reduced to four times its original volume.
Close the compressor interface.
Hit play to hear your mix edits in real-time.
Slide the "Gain" dial for the snare up. The newly compressed snare will take up less space in the dynamic spectrum so you can afford to give it more gain. Gain refers to signal strength relative to maximum output volume.
Open the "Equalizer" effect from the effects menu. This opens a new interface. On the interface is a grid with a frequency curve.
Click on the curve and move it around. This alters the frequency profile of the snare. The vertical axis of the snare represents gain and the horizontal axis represents frequency. By moving the curve around, you can hear the snare with different frequencies boosted. Once you hit on a "sweet spot," typically around 2 KHz, where the boosted frequency adds impact to the snare, stop moving the curve.