i'm always trying to make the drums bigger and snappier

1 of my techniques is to use extremely short delays (that function like a reverb). i'm extremely anal about precision SO ALL my reverb/delay parameters are usually timed to the track (unless i want it to be oFF..lol)

first take 60000 and divide by your tempo (say 88 bpm)
this will give you a 1/4 note delay in milliseconds

60000/88 = 681.8 milliseconds

to find 1/8th note divide by 2 = 340.9

and on....

till i get in the <100 ms range

a 1/32 note delay will be 85.2
i like this value as the predelay to my (usually plate) reverb i put on drums. what this does is put 85.2 milliseconds of delay between the snare sound and the onset of the reverb. This can make the hits HUGE!

i also use my psp lexicon delay as a reverb by setting the delay time to a 1/128th note. in this case 21.3 mS. again..this is not something that is readily appaprent. but play with it and bypass and you will hear the difference. it makes things snappier. Reflections of sound make a big part of our listening experience. when people talk in aneonic (?) chambers they frequently muse about the "softness" of the sounds because there are no reflections present. so if you wanna make something hit harder. MAKE MORE REFLECTIONS!

http://howardlloyd.bandcamp.com