and even tho they seem to play pretty good live i remember reading in a studio report that one thing they mess around with a lot in the studio is spls transient designer
http://www.spl-usa.com/Transient_Designer/T_US_AUDIO0MEDIA_E.html
this thingy can alter the attack of a signal...that way you can chop a couple of milliseconds off of a note...that way it doesnt swell up (however quickly) --- it's right there as quickly as the snare tone for example.