MIMF

One of my customers wants me to install a pickup in his 12 string.

What in your opinion, is the simplest, and best way to go with this?

There are many options for 6 string, but will they all work for a 12 string, with the wider string spacing?

I’d recommend a surface mount Prestige 330 pickup from JJB Electronics (http://jjb-electronics.com/prestige-330.html). They have a model with 20mm piezo discs intended for 12 string acoustics. I’ve used the 15mm model in several of my 6 string guitars with very good results and Jesse is a great guy to deal with.

I'll second the recommendation for the JJB pickup packages. These are a great choice for passive piezo pickups and good and competitive prices. Jesse really is good to deal with.

For active pickups, I have had really good results with the LR Baggs Lyric system. Installed in two 12 strings and sounds great, avoiding the sometimes tricky setup of under-saddle systems. Nice natural sound without any piezo "quack".

//mike

I checked the JJB piezos out. Thanks for the link!
Do you guys use them as passive pickups, with no pre-amp and no battery?
If so, is the sound still really good?
The examples on the site sound great.

Really good price too!

Yes, I’ve used it as a passive pickup and they sound very good. Have also used it with an external preamp and that also sounds great.

That pickup looks like a copy of a K&K Pure Mini which is what I was going to recommend.

K&K makes a special version for 12 strings. I've installed a couple and have been very happy with them. Make sure you have enough room on the bridge plate (K&K includes a little template, I'm sure you could down load it from their website before buying the pup. (If you can't find it PM me and I could scan it for you - that way you would know if its going to fit)
They do offer an active version but I've only installed one, they also offer a version that includes a little sound hole volume control but is not active. Most of the time people run them thru a DI or some sort of preamp.

I've also installed a couple of UST's in 12 strings. One just gave me fits trying to balance it, I took it out and, made a new saddle and put a K&K in. My understanding is that the JJB is a copy of the K&K that is made overseas, but I could be incorrect.

The JJB sounds great plugged direct into an acoustic amp with high impedance input channel. I've used the JJB 220 in several instruments (including mandolins and a 6-string guitalele) and all sounded pretty good. I have used the K&K once, and my observation is that the JJB is encapsulated differently and not as necessary to use foam tape adhesive. I have been installing the JJB with gel superglue and get a decent natural sound. The signal level compares really well with humbucking magnetic pickups, and offers plenty of level to avoid signal-to-noise ratio problems.

Using a passive JJB means you have much more flexibility in terms of pre-amp and other processing and no concerns about internally mounting the battery, etc.

One potential negative characteristic (depending on your customer) is that the surface mounted JJB are more sensitive to body noise than under-saddle pickups. Rubbing or tapping the top or body might be more obvious but this is not a problem for me.