So I didn't end up going in this direction
In fact, I don't think I picked up my AleM-85 at all since then. Almost two and a half years! But recently I felt it calling to me...
Playing with a wood pick through a SansAmp - the Geddy Lee MP40, basically like the YYZ - it gives you fat bottom end that you can blend with the higher frequency stuff - kinda like an Alembic or Rickenbacker being run in stereo - kind of a genius pedal, it fits the way I work - and Moving Pictures is probably my favorite RUSH album
Also - these strings (LaBella flats) have been on here for quite a long time. Maybe time for some new ones? I broke down and ordered short scale Pyramid flats for the first time - hope they fit (though if not I might try them on my Gibson Les Paul Triumph) - also another LaBella set just in case (760FL-M). I was motivated to order finally because when I was getting my settings dialed in, I felt frustrated with the "deadness" of the E compared to the rest. But the next night, I felt like that didn't matter - probably because I was playing along with music rather than just listening to the bass in a vacuum. So I might not change the strings for a while...