Kick & Snare compression: elect. blues, soft rock, R&B

[Mike H]

I know there have been tons of threads on drum compression, but a lot focuses on modern, hip hop, or the big 80's sound. My situation is a little different since I'm:
(1) Doing "ancient stuff" in the vein of Jerry Garcia Band (with Jerry, not recent), Dire Straits, Chicago blues, Little Feat, etc.
(2) Everything is synth except vocals and electric guitars.

So, I'm not after the huge modern bottom end. But kick and snare are of course still critically important to this music.

With synth drums, every instrument is separate. I have been separately processing:
(1) Kick > Distressor > 560
(2) Snare > Distressor > 1/2 EQ-2NV
(3) Toms and Congas > 2500 > EQ-2NV
(4) All other drums (HiHats, etc.) > C1 > E15's

I'm not happy with the kick and snare. I have fiddled with the Distressors endlessly, but it just doesn't have the old vibe. I'm thinking maybe I need some transformer processing (??). I'm not after hard and huge, but more a good solid vibe.

I'm just thinking the Distressors maybe aren't a fit for this kind of music, even though I know everybody seems to love them. Maybe I just don't know how to use them.

Any suggestions?