Down under

Howdy, y'all. Some of you are downright frustrated when it comes to dealing with direct-mount pickups. Yes, the ones that don't attach themselves to pick guards or mounting rings. Default pickups would feature foam/pad (some with springs) under the chassis. If you choose to swap those pickups out, you'd have to deal with padding your new ones & seen here is an economical way to do it.

The padding there are the ones used for chairs/ tables to prevent noisy drag noises, attached to the base of the furniture legs. They are available at the hardware store, some are sold at thrift shops in your neighbourhood. They are equipped with industrial strength adhesive so when it comes to using them, it's simple- just peel off the protective tape. Cut them up to size & stick them where they should be. I would keep stacking the pads just so the thickness would exceed the height of the pickup's pole pieces, this way, you have some play when there is a need to adjust the pickup's height subsequently.

Foam support

I know many of you out there are frustrated by the fact that direct mount pickups require a base support & the action adjustment springs are done away with. Hunting for a suitable foam padding is quite a chore, one has to consider the material involved; it shouldn't be too flimsy (dish-washing sponge is out of the question) because if it is, it won't give you that 'springy' effect to push the pickups up during height adjustments. It shouldn't be too hard to such an extent that you are unable to push the pickups down into the cavity during installation or dent the wood (ouch!).

My approach to this is to use furniture skid protectors which are readily available at hardware stores/ supermarkets. This is the very foam attached to the base of your furniture so that when you drag/ move them, there won't be scratch marks on the floor. The adhesive for such attachments are industrial strength, they won't dislodge easily, it requires some amount of tugging to get them off, very suitable for the occasion. They come in various shapes & dimensions so it's no issue trimming them to fit your needs. As you observe above, I have trimmed them for my DiMarzio humbucker, I've also stacked them accordingly to suit the cavity depth. $1.99 for those 18 pieces :-)