Load the track. Double-click the desktop icon for your preferred audio production program. Typically the last session you edited opens automatically. To work on a different track, click "File" and select "Open Recent."
Solo your kick drum. Click the "S" icon. This mutes everything but the kick drum. To accurately manipulate the drums to add punch, do them in turn and in isolation.
Click "Effects" and select compressor. This effect limits the dynamic range of a sound by cutting loud volumes and boosting low volumes to reduce the difference between the loudest and quietest points.
Hit "Play" so you can hear the changes.
Adjust the "Ratio" setting on the compressor interface. This parameter governs how much "cut" or "boost" you add. You typically adjust ratio by turning a virtual rotary dial. This approach allows for a more intuitive adjustment. Set the dial to around half way for a punchy, powerful boost.
Adjust the "Output Gain." This influences the overall volume boost of the compressor. Set it as high as it will go before the kick drum begins to sound "fuzzy." This is a sign of over-compression and muddies the sound.
Click "Tools" and select "Eq" or "Equalization," depending on which program you are using. This tool lets you boost and cut various frequencies. Select the highest-frequency band on the interface. The only high frequency in a kick drum recording is the sound of the beater hitting the drum. This is where the "punch" comes from.
Click "Analyzer." This opens a grid with a manually adjustable curve. The curve represents the level of the particular frequency. Drag the curve around the grid. This changes the character of the sound. Keep moving it around the grid until the effect of the beater hitting the skin of the drum becomes prominent.
Stop the track, click the "S" icon on the kick drum track to turn off the solo setting. Solo the snare drum and hit play.
Click "Tools" and select "Gate." This effect mutes sound below a certain volume threshold. Slowly adjust the "Threshold" dial while listening until it mutes all of the room sound from the snare track.
Click "Effects" and select "Reverb." Use the preset as a starting point and adjust the "Size" and "Depth" parameters to preference. "Gated reverb" creates a distinctive punchy sound. The drums on "In the Air Tonight" by Phil Collins feature a prominent example of this effect.