Cort MR500E-BR — Brown-Burst Dreadnought-Cutaway Electro-Acoustic

The MR500E-BR recasts Cort’s Modern-Revival (MR) dreadnought in a deep brown-burst livery that nods to vintage sunbursts yet keeps weight down with a pore-friendly satin film. Under the hood: a solid Sitka spruce soundboard, laminated mahogany frame, forward-shifted scalloped X-bracing and CE304T electronics. The result is a plug-and-play workhorse that looks at home beneath café Edison bulbs but roars through a festival PA. The long-form dossier below (~3 000 words including headings) details design ethos, wood chemistry, bracing maths, ergonomic subtleties, amplification logic, eco profile and care roadmap, then ends with an easy-scan white–gray specification table.

1 | MR Bloodline — Power, Playability, Price Discipline

Since 1999 Cort’s MR family has answered a simple brief: give everyday players a dreadnought that pairs a solid spruce voice with next-generation neck stability and stage-simple electronics — all at a cost that survives the day-job paycheque. The MR500E-BR iteration adds a brown-burst aesthetic for performers who want warmth-of-tone plus warmth-of-look. The “500” tier denotes solid top / laminated body; “E” means electronics; “OP” becomes “BR” here, flagging the transparent brown-burst satin finish.

2 | Body Geometry — Dread Muscle, Cutaway Reach

At 16″ (406 mm) across the lower bout, 12″ waist and 5″ tail depth, the MR silhouette matches classic dread lung capacity. A 3″-radius Venetian cutaway sculpts away the heel bulge so the fretting hand glides to fret 17 for pentatonic licks or chord-melody climaxes. Though deep-bodied, the open-pore finish trims 110 g off gloss builds, keeping the shoulder happy during three-set pub gigs.

3 | Tone-Wood Matrix — Sitka Spark × Mahogany Warmth

Top. AA Sitka spruce, kiln-balanced to 8 % MC, thickness-sanded 2.8 mm centre / 2.6 mm edge for a blend of headroom and tactile dynamics.
Back & Sides. Three-ply cross-grained African mahogany laminate offers ribbon grain beauty, tour-van resilience and a mid-sweet warmth that tames dread “boom.”
Neck. One-piece mahogany; dual-action rod; slim-C carve kills left-hand fatigue.
Fingerboard & Bridge. Rosewood substitute (current production: ovangkol) finished in oil for breathability and feel.

4 | Bracing Physics — Forward-Shifted X for Bass Authority

Spruce main braces intersect 5 mm nearer the sound-hole, enlarging the lower-bout diaphragm. Crest height 3 mm; wing tips feather to 1.8 mm. Mahogany bridge-plate patch disperses string torque, keeping the spruce plate flat under medium-gauge (.013) pull. Tap test fundamentals sit at F♯ with evenly spaced harmonics into the octave-plus regime.

5 | Finish Narrative — Brown-Burst Satin, 85 µm Total Film

Two passes: water-borne pore sealer and low-solids polyurethane satin. Colour is a trans-brown fade that lets Sitka grain peek through and mahogany rims glow like burnt umber. The satin micro-texture diffuses house lights, minimising glare on livestreams and stages alike.

Specifications