One of the most important aspects of creating a solid mix is to layer your instruments. Each layer is meant to further mix the instrument into the track and to refine the idea.
As an example, to build a proper snare, you will probably find yourself layering multiple sound samples to build a thick and full instrument. You want a woody base in the low frequency ranges of 500-1500hz, a nice crunch at the mid-range of 2000-5000hz, and then a third high-frequency crisp to even it off at the 5000+. Each of these frequency ranges will generally require an individual sample properly mixed into the track. All the snare samples are then compressed together with a slow attack and fast release to keep the transients snappy. Most people will also make a duplication of this instrument to apply processing, such as reverb on the mid crunch.
The concept of layering is not only applied to individual instruments but in the way all the instruments of the track interact with each other. You should intentionally place every note in the midi sequence either on top of the kick or snare, to lead up to a kick or snare (as to create tension), or intentionally off-beat from the rest as to create swing. In dance music, where the kick and clap is 4x4, you may notice that an instrument always starts on the first beat of the measure to layer with the kick. Perhaps it layers with the snare also, or intentionally does not. This is called music theory, and unfortunately it is extremely complex - but hopefully you have been able to understand my simplifications of it.
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