Before spending any money can you define "too quiet"?
The reason I say this is not only to save you spending, but with digital recording it is easy to stick to the old analogue methodology of recording as hot (loud) as possible to try and get a "signal to noise" ratio with tape
Over the years, and as I have learnt more about digital recording, I am finding the complete opposite is true in the digital world and I am recording quieter and quieter every time and getting much better results
I then just turn up my monitoring and worry about levels when mixing and mastering
Pre-amps, especially cheaper ones, can introduce noise - especially if they are turned up
What is the exact problem you are trying to overcome that just turning the track gain/volume up doesn't solve?
What daw / software are you using when you transfer to your laptop?
What is the signal level like when you transfer a file - Ie at what general level does the track meter bounce around at (-9, -12, -20 etc?)?
It is possible that the low recording volume is by design as it is likely that a looper pedal would leave a lot of "headroom" as each time you loop and add a part the signal would get louder so they need to leave a lot of headroom to allow for this build in volume to prevent distortion
Do you have a guitar amp laying around? You could try using this as your "pre-amp" if it has an output or FX loop send
