So, I've recorded my bass line into the DAW and now its time for compression and eq. for some reason I just cant shape the tone into that gut pounding hard rock bass. How can I get that sound?

Firstly you need the right kind of sound to start with, it must be "close enough".  For the rest...we can't say anything specific 'cause we don't know how the bass sounds now nor how you'd want it to sound.

EQ, Compression, distortion, maybe transient shaper..anything can be usable.

I'm sure you'll be given some specific hints. I've never recorded real bass.

How was the bass recorded, through an amp and microphone or direct through the soundcard?

I'm using a Dean Edge bass with active pups running straight into my soundcard Dry. 

Well that's your first problem.

What type of input are you going into? Instrument? Low impedance? High impedance? Line?

What's the signal level like once it gets inside Sonar? Healthy or wimpy?

You'll need to describe IN DETAIL exactly what you're doing, what inputs you're suing, what levels you're seeing.

What soundcard/interface are you using (waits for the obvious.......)

Try a mic.  Record what you hear - and hopefully like.

A good DI if you are going that way is even more important than a good preamp for mics.  If you can get a solid signal there, adding a virtual amp can often help, providing the "air" to make the sound real.

But as others have posted above, more info is needed to guess what might help.  But there is no magic bullet to fix a sound that isn't working in the first place.

@

try using an x2 track template.
there are a few that use th2 and compression that sound really good.
a good vst plug in will do wonders.
also clone the track, set one for the low end using eq, the other for the mid range (around 250k)
blend to sound desired.
pan the mid track slightly left or right.

watch your eq-if its sounds great on its own but then mudding when you um-mute the drums than you need to dial in your kick and bass eq, these two will fight over the frequency spectrum like a piar of cats on a fish.

As a few are pointing out you need to start with as close to the sound you want first. Look into a bass pre amp.
My son just picked up this TC BH250 and it is incredible what it can do. He sent me a recording of just the bass and a few examples. He  has Godin 5 string which sounds pretty good on its own, which is the starting point for good bass tone . A bass should sound good unplugged. 
My friend who has played bass for 30 years calls it "That expensive sound"  

New strings -> direct box -> bass amp sim (toneport, mark bass.ect..). I cannot stress enough how much new strings can make even a cheap bass sound good (if the intonation is properly setup). The reverse is also true,  once a set of strings loose their "newness" even an expensive bass can sound dull and lifeless.

If it were me, and maybe I know what type of tone you're looking for, I'd try to borrow or get my hands on a passive Fender Jazz bass with the normal JJ pickup design. Grab some fresh D'Addarrio strings, set the knobs to middle, then tweak to taste. Play through 10" speakers (if you can get an Eden or SWR cab 2x10 or 4x10), or even an Ampeg 4x10 and a tube Pre-amp, you should be able to get the source you want. 

For DI you might also look for a SansAMP to give yourself a little more punch as well, everything set to 12:00. 

For the plug-Ins you use, 8:1 compression at most, and maybe try the Waves Kramer Signature Bass plug-in. I also will at times use the A-type Console Emulation, although if you have Waves NLS, the Spike channel 29 is pretty punchy.

However, I recommend making changes on the bass side first. Deans are just fine, but a Fender Jazz in an SWR or Ampeg is going to resonate the way you may be alluding to. Don't overlook the SansAMP, though. For the money, this box is amazing!  Best of luck!!