Double-click the desktop icon for your preferred digital audio interface, for example Pro Tools or Cubase.
Open the "Wave Editor" interface. This lays out the audio in a linear fashion; each piece of audio is represented by its own sound wave.
Right-click on the channel for the drum track you wish to alter. Select "Copy."
Click "File" and select "New Audio." This opens a new audio channel. Right-click in the new audio channel and select "Paste." This imports a copy of the drum sound into the new channel.
Click "S" on the new drum channel to solo the sound, this mutes everything else.
Select the "Trim" tool. This is typically located in the "Tools" menu, although some programs enable you to select it by right-clicking.
Trim your preferred selection. Typically one drum stroke is represented by a single, tall peak. Play the track and watch the time bar as it moves along to determine which peak represents which drum sound. To trim the sound, click either side, but as close as possible to the peak, and then delete the audio on either side.
Open the "Effects" menu and select "Compressor." This is a dynamic tool that lets you alter the energy patterns in the sound wave. By compressing the sound wave, you lower the volume of the loudest peak, tempering the dynamic profile of the sound.
Click "Threshold" and adjust it to your preferred level. The higher the threshold, the larger portion of the sound wave you subject to compression.
Adjust the "Ratio" to determine by how much the peak is reduced. For example, selecting "4:1" means the compressed sound is four times quieter than the original.
Adjust the "Output Gain" threshold to boost the base level of the sound. This pushes the new peak up to compensate for the reduction in volume caused by the compressor. So now, the sound is still a good volume, but the dynamic profile is much smaller, creating a more compact and punchy sound similar to the drum sound that characterizes the recordings of acts such as Hall & Oates, Genesis and Phil Collins.
Click "Bypass" to temporarily turn off the compression. This lets you hear the difference between the original sound and the compressed sound. The intensity of the effect is more pronounced with a higher "Setting."