The stereo image of the kick sounds EXTREMELY weird, as if you had used some stereo image widener, which puts the kick on the very extremes of the stereo fields. A good rule of thumb is that bass (as in bassline and kick) should be mono and panned to the exact center.
You are right. Truth be told I did not pay much attention to the MD and just used one of the presets with small tweaks. I will give it another go as soon as I can and give it another try following your advice. Thank you!