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J., I would recommend making the time and effort to get your hands on several 12 string guitars, play them, and take measurements (if this is for a customer, asking them if they've played several and which they like best should also, obviously, factor in). The thing with a double course instrument (stating the obvious again, here) is that the total spread of strings is considerably wider, and this really changes the feel and playability from a standard guitar. For example, I normally fret an ordinary A chord using my first finger alone, bent backward a bit at the first joint, pressing down all three strings. On any guitar with too wide a string spacing, I can't do that, and that throws a bit of a wrench into my playing. Other chords, for example, where I reach my pinky across to the lower strings while fretting on the higher strings with my other fingers, can also be difficult or impossible with a wide string spread. Most people who play mostly 6 string guitar would probably, I assume, want a 12 string that plays as much like a 6 string as possible (for the left hand, especially). So, if it were me, I'd probably begin by trying to determine just how closely I can space the strings without creating problems because they're TOO close. Checking out a bunch of existing 12 string guitars and seeing how they work with various spacings would be a good way to begin to figure stuff like that out. Without getting a good feel from, and measurements from, existing instruments, there's guesswork involved in the string spacing decisions you make (even if your guesses are informed by the recommendations of others) - that is to say, you're guessing about how it's actually going to feel to play your guitar - and you might not be so happy with the results.
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