Magnetic pickup on acoustic 12-string for an electric sound?

Not a bad idea at all. The clip-on mag pickups for acoustics are not going to duplicate a Rick or Fender, but won't give you a pure acoustic sound either. No need to change strings, just install and try it out. They can be had for cheap up to very expensive. Very reversible. I don't recall any designed for 12-strings, but any one that will fit your sound hole should work. You could always try steel strings on your acoustic to see which you like better.

 

I went thru the same drill a month or two ago, and finally decided an acoustic with a neck pickup (EJ160Eish) or soundhole arrangement might get pricey and be plagued by feedback. I picked up an inexpensive new thinline 12 on EBay...think I gave a buck and a quarter.



I still need to put better strings on it and do a setup (and may do some other tinkering)...but it meets my 12 electric needs.

 

Not only can it be done....it HAS been done by many players. I did it on a Conn twelve string acoustic with a neat Shadow soundhole pickup. The only problem is, they can be prone to feedback in a loud-ish situation.
And, don't expect a real Rickenbacker sound, because, as most of you know, Rick's are strung with their "lower pitch" strings "above" their higher pitch ones.....meaning, from TOP to BOTTOM.....they're tuned "low E, high E, low A, high A, low D, high D", etc. Conventional twelves are opposite this. It makes a surprising difference in sound.
But I say....go for it!

 

A thought occurs... I had a rubber soundhole cover for my Takamine Acoustic/Electric. Probably still have it around. It wasn't a perfect solution, but there were times that it was needed to stop feedback. If one of them doesn't fit with a soundhole pickup in place, why is no one combining the two? Or are they, and I just never saw one? I'm OK with it sounding more electric than acoustic; if I want acoustic, I unplug.

 

Guitar player in one of that bands I’m in has an acoustic Gretsch with an OEM gold foil pickup mounted just above the sound hole - works pretty good.

 

I forget who makes them, but that set-up is available on Amazon at least.

 

.

I've put a Strat pickup in a 6-string acoustic and plugged in it sounds like a Strat (but feeds back uncontrollably with too much distortion).
I've put an acoustic under-saddle pickup under a Tele bridge and that sounds like an acoustic guitar (but you need a pre-amp and an acoustic amp).


.

 

Yes it will work as long as you're not too picky about how it sounds. I suspect you'll get a lot more mileage out of an acoustic 12 that you can electrify than trying to make a solidbody sound like a big Jumbo acoustic 12.