"felt dead"
don't know what that means. you've got set up (Alembics are quite friendly in this area), string choice, pickups.
when I got mine (used 5 string Persuader, quite like a spoiler) the set up and strings were way wrong for me. a bit of time and the thing is just plain great.
the active pickups have incredible range - but I generally prefer the passive ones on my VC. but they are different animals by design.
edit - these are medium scale, and at least with mine, I think it favors a solo bass style more than a keeping down the bottom thing.
placement not right for slap? that would be a good thing, slap bass should be discouraged