Epiphone's Faded G-400 packs humbucking power. When you really want to cook on a solo or deliver some thunderous power chords, you reach for a guitar that's got a pair of humbuckers, right? Forget all those thin out-of-phase guitar sounds that session players overused in the 1980s and (sad to say) right through much of the '90s. That's not for you. Your sound is all about the warmth, punch, and midrange complexity you can only get from humbuckers. The SG Standard comes with a pair of 'em: a 490R in the neck position and a 498T at the bridge. You get uncompromising power whether you're playing rhythm or digging into a solo.
OK I just looked, Alnico Classic and Classic Plus. Those are hot pups and I have them in my LP and another Vintage G400. Darker than the Probuckers, but real good nonetheless.
Epiphone Faded G-400 Features:
Fuel your music with this lean, mean rock machine!
Mahogany body and SlimTaper D-profile set neck
24.75" scale; 1.68" nut width
Rosewood 12" radius fingerboard with 22 frets
Alnico Classic Neck humbucker; Alnico Classic Plus Bridge humbucker
LockTone Tune-O-Matic bridge; stopbar tailpiece
Nickel hardware; Grover 14:1 ratio tuners
If you find them muddy, it's because they're adjusted too close to the strings. I have them in another G400 Vintage and neck is at pup ring level, that's pretty low, but I find that this is its sweet spot. Bridge is about 6mm.
Here's how I got there:
I set the bridge pickup (pole) height to about two credit card thickness distance from the bottom of the strings (1/8" or ±3cm). If it sounds good, I leave it there. Too hot ? Go ½ turn of each screw at a time to lower it where I want it (counter clockwise for humbucker, clockwise for P90). Test clean and with OD. Once I have that one at the sweet spot, I go to the neck pup.
Any neck pickup will sound boomy if adjusted too high.
Neck tone has to be different from middle position. Many people have the neck pup adjusted so it gives the same tonality as middle position. Not good. Neck pup has to be adjusted so middle position gets a quacky tone. You'll know what I mean when you get there. So, I raise the neck pup until it starts to sound boomy. Notes will seem to be overwhelmed with too much bass. Now I lower it a full screw turn and compare it to middle. If it sounds the same, the neck pup is still too high. I go on until I hear three different balanced tones out of the two pup.
That is a fun thing to do. Take your time and you will find the sweet spot for each pickup.