hear you on that... im so over the amen..
prefer a nice sounding break with a nice groove anyday...
here is a thread with a post of mine outlining one method
for working on beats..
http://www.dnbforum.com/showthread.php?t=24636
using a spectrum analyser is always a good idea.. but learn to trust your ears aswell...
but there is only so much you can do to a break
But a few tips
Try Using a Sampler Like Kontakt to edit the envelopes on
indidual hits.... that will help clean up the sound
Alot of ppl use battery for drums...
it is a good program but its just really a limited and simpler version of Kontakt... Kontakt is an amzing
program to use for drums...
Bus the hits out seperately aswell so you can apply
dif eqs compression reverbs etc on different layer...
listen to what your break needs... dont add layers
or effects just for the sake of it....