Should i format my beats with a 12 bar verse or 16

The usual answer would be "depends on how you want it"
But it depends. Will it be an instrumental or will someone's voice be on it?
Some folks prefer the beat to be around them instead of them trying to follow the beat.[3 bars, 5 bars, 4 1/2 bars etc] anything that doesn't follow a usual time signature they'll get confused easily.
 
It's up to you... I normally do a 16 bar verse if it's a faster track but if the verses seem to drag and carry on forever, I'll sneak in a 12 bar verse instead.
 
actually no you don't count any instrument as that is a sure-fire recipe for disaster: the bar that has a snare roll or other snare based fill will instead be counted as multiple bars under your suggestion

count 4 beats (or emphasis points) to get 1 bar in modern dance music - don't forget that some bars only have 2 beats per bar (2/4 and 6/8) and some can have 3 beats per bar (3/4).

rely on powers of two to work out your sections i.e. 2/4/8/16/32 bars. You can use 12 bars if your harmonic structure is the 12 bar blues (this is 4+8 or better still 8+4, still powers of 2 at work)
 
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There is no exact rule on how you should structure you beat. Be as creative as you want. If an artist is going to be on it make sure it fits their lyrics, sometimes artist like to go into the hook, so you might have to extended the verse or shorten it depending on how long they are rapping/singing. But be creative, there are no guidelines because you are creating your music, be different.
 
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