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Stray Cats

4 guitar songs · Tabs, Lessons & Tone Guide Rock

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Band Overview

History and Guitar Legacy

Formed in 1979 in Massapequa, New York, by Brian Setzer, Lee Rocker, and Slim Jim Phantom, the Stray Cats revitalized rockabilly in the 1980s. After relocating to England, they exploded with a raw, retro sound that contrasted sharply with synth-pop dominance. Their fusion of 1950s rockabilly, punk energy, and genuine guitar virtuosity created massive international hits like Rock This Town and Stray Cat Strut, making them one of the decade's most exciting live acts.

Playing Style and Techniques

Brian Setzer is regarded as one of the greatest rockabilly guitarists ever. His approach filters classic Eddie Cochran and Carl Perkins licks through jazz harmony, incorporating diminished runs, sixth chords, and sophisticated voice leading. Setzer masters hybrid picking, double stops, and chromatic runs with precision. His vibrato is wide and vocal, his bends articulate, and his rhythm playing delivers percussive snap that amplifies the trio's sound impact.

Why Guitarists Study Stray Cats

The Stray Cats catalog is essential for guitarists seeking to expand beyond standard rock techniques. Studying Setzer's work transforms understanding of hybrid picking, swing phrasing, and jazz influenced single note lines. The band demonstrates how to execute percussive rhythm work and blend rockabilly traditions with harmonic sophistication. Their material bridges classic rockabilly foundations with modern technical approaches, offering invaluable lessons in tone production and stylistic versatility.

Difficulty and Learning Path

Stray Cats material ranges from intermediate to advanced difficulty. Rhythm parts featuring chunky, swinging open chords with muted slaps suit players with one to two years experience. However, solos demand confident hybrid picking, fast chromatic passages, and authentic swing phrasing rather than straight eighth notes. Players comfortable with pentatonic soloing who want to progress toward rockabilly and jazz inflected lines will find this catalog an ideal focused practice resource.

What Makes Stray Cats Essential for Guitar Players

  • Brian Setzer's hybrid picking technique is central to the Stray Cats sound. He holds a heavy pick between thumb and index finger while using his middle and ring fingers to pluck higher strings, allowing him to play rapid-fire arpeggios, banjo-roll patterns, and double stops that would be impossible with a flatpick alone.
  • Setzer's rhythm playing features a percussive slap technique where he mutes the strings with his fretting hand and strikes them aggressively to create a snare-like pop between chord hits. This fills the sonic space left by having no rhythm guitarist, making the trio sound massive live.
  • The lead work is loaded with chromatic approach notes, diminished scale runs, and jazzy passing tones, not just standard pentatonic boxes. Learning Setzer's solos will force you out of the minor pentatonic comfort zone and into the world of bebop-influenced rockabilly phrasing.
  • Setzer makes heavy use of double stops (playing two notes simultaneously), particularly sixths and thirds, sliding them up and down the neck to create those signature melodic hooks that define songs like "Rock This Town." This technique bridges rhythm and lead seamlessly.
  • His vibrato is wide, controlled, and almost always applied with the wrist rather than the fingers, giving it a vocal, singing quality. Combined with precise quarter-tone and half-step bends, it gives his tone an expressive, human character that cuts through the mix.

Did You Know?

Brian Setzer's main Gretsch 6120 was originally a stock 1959 model that he bought for around $500 in the early 1980s. That guitar became so iconic that Gretsch eventually released multiple Brian Setzer signature models based on it, making it one of the most recognized hollowbodies in rock history.

The Stray Cats recorded their debut album in just a few days at a small London studio, capturing most takes live with minimal overdubs, which is why the guitar tone sounds so raw and unprocessed compared to the heavily produced records of the early 1980s.

Setzer deliberately uses heavy-gauge strings (typically .012-.054) on his hollowbody Gretsch, which contributes to the thick, snappy tone and also makes his bending technique even more impressive given the extra tension.

Despite being labeled a rockabilly revivalist, Setzer has cited jazz guitarists like Django Reinhardt and Chet Atkins as equal influences to rock pioneers like Scotty Moore and Cliff Gallup, which explains the sophisticated chord voicings and chromatic vocabulary in his solos.

The slap-back delay effect that defines the Stray Cats guitar sound was originally achieved in the 1950s using tape echo machines. Setzer has used various methods over the years, from vintage Roland Space Echoes to modern digital delays set to a single repeat at roughly 120-140ms.

When the Stray Cats first moved to London, they were so broke that Setzer reportedly busked on the street with his Gretsch. British audiences who had never seen a hollowbody guitar played with that much aggression were immediately hooked.

Brian Setzer is one of the few guitarists who can credibly play rockabilly, jump blues, big band swing, and country on the same stage, and he attributes this versatility to learning Travis picking and Chet Atkins fingerstyle before he ever played with a band.

Essential Albums for Guitarists

Stray Cats 1981

The self-titled debut is the essential starting point. 'Rock This Town' is a masterclass in rockabilly rhythm guitar and hybrid-picked solos, while 'Stray Cat Strut' teaches you minor-key swing phrasing and jazzy chord movement. The raw, live-in-the-studio production means you can hear every pick attack and muted slap clearly, perfect for learning by ear.

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Gonna Ball album cover
Gonna Ball 1981

Released the same year as the debut, this album pushes Setzer's playing into more adventurous territory with faster tempos and more complex solo sections. 'Rev It Up and Go' and 'Lonely Summer Nights' feature blistering chromatic runs and some of his most aggressive rhythm slapping, making it ideal for intermediate players ready to level up.

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Built for Speed album cover
Built for Speed 1982

This compilation brought the Stray Cats to American audiences and contains the definitive versions of their biggest songs. For guitarists, it's the perfect one-stop collection: 'Rock This Town' for hybrid picking and double stops, 'Stray Cat Strut' for minor swing rhythm, and 'Built for Speed' for aggressive rockabilly lead technique over a driving shuffle beat.

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Rant n' Rave with the Stray Cats album cover
Rant n' Rave with the Stray Cats 1983

Features '(She's) Sexy + 17' and 'I Won't Stand in Your Way,' which showcase Setzer's cleaner, more melodic side alongside the usual rockabilly fire. The ballad work here reveals his chord-melody skills and tasteful use of Gretsch clean tones, essential listening if you want to understand the full range of what a hollowbody can do.

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Tone & Gear

Guitar

Gretsch 6120 (1959 original, later various Brian Setzer signature models including the Gretsch G6120T-BSSMK and Hot Rod editions). These are full hollowbody guitars with a single Bigsby B6 vibrato tailpiece, bound maple tops, and that distinctive orange/amber finish. Setzer also uses a Gretsch White Falcon on occasion for a slightly different tonal character. The hollowbody construction is essential to the Stray Cats sound, it provides the airy resonance and natural acoustic sustain that makes rockabilly guitar feel alive.

Amp

Setzer has primarily used vintage Fender Bassman amplifiers (the original 1959 tweed 4x10 configuration) cranked to the edge of breakup for that warm, compressed-but-dynamic clean tone with grit when you dig in. He's also used blonde Fender Bandmasters and occasionally Marshall JCM800s for a dirtier, more aggressive tone on later recordings. The key is tube saturation at moderate volume, not full distortion, but a sweet spot where picking dynamics control the amount of breakup.

Pickups

Setzer's signature Gretsch guitars use TV Jones pickups, specifically the TV Jones Setzer Signature pickups, which are designed as modern recreations of vintage Filter'Tron humbuckers. These are lower-output humbuckers (around 4-5k ohms) compared to typical PAF-style pickups, which gives them a bright, twangy clarity with less midrange compression. The Filter'Tron design is what separates Gretsch rockabilly tone from Gibson or Fender sounds, you get hum-canceling properties without losing the snappy high-end sparkle essential for rockabilly.

Effects & Chain

The most critical effect is slap-back delay, a single repeat set to approximately 120-140ms with the mix at around 40-50%. Setzer has used Roland RE-301 Space Echo tape units, Boss DM-2 analog delays, and modern equivalents to achieve this. Beyond that, the pedalboard is remarkably sparse: occasionally a tube screamer-style overdrive for a solo boost, and the Bigsby vibrato on the guitar itself for subtle pitch wobble. The philosophy is pure tone-from-the-hands, the amp does the heavy lifting, the delay adds the vintage ambiance, and everything else comes from pick attack and finger technique.

Recommended Gear

Marshall JCM800
Amp

Marshall JCM800

Setzer uses Marshall JCM800s on later recordings for a dirtier, more aggressive tone than his vintage Fender Bassmans, pushing the amp into controllable breakup for harder rockabilly edges while maintaining dynamic pick sensitivity.

Ibanez Tube Screamer TS9
Pedal

Ibanez Tube Screamer TS9

The TS9 serves as Setzer's occasional solo boost, adding controlled overdrive that stacks naturally with the Gretsch's TV Jones pickups for punchy lead tones without losing the snappy high-end clarity essential to rockabilly.

MXR Carbon Copy Analog Delay
Pedal

MXR Carbon Copy Analog Delay

This analog delay recreates Setzer's signature slapback tone, delivering the classic 120-140ms repeat at 40-50% mix that gives Stray Cats records their vintage ambiance while preserving the natural hollowbody resonance.

How to Practice Stray Cats on GuitarZone

Every Stray Cats song page on GuitarZone includes a built-in Practice Toolbar. No app to download, no account needed. Open any song, then use the toolbar to slow the video to 0.5× speed, set an A/B loop around the exact riff you're working on, and jump between song sections instantly.

The toolbar appears automatically on every guitar tab, lesson, and cover page. Pick a song below, hit play, and start practicing at your own pace.

Practice Rock This Town - Guitar LessonPractice Rock This Town - Guitar LessonPractice Rock This Town - Guitar Lesson