Practice Studio

Stray Cats - Rock This Town Pt.2 - Chorus & Outro - Guitar Lesson

Sections · Loop · Speed · Metronome

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100%

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BPM
Key E major
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Amp Settings

Classic Rock

Gain6
Bass6
Mid7
Treble6
Presence5
Master7
AI tone preset

AI-selected preset based on genre and era — adjust the knobs to taste.

Roll back the gain slightly and pick near the neck for a warmer, more open crunch.

Stray Cats Punk Rock E major
Capo Advisor 0 E major · Original key

About Rock This Town Pt.2 - Chorus & Outro


At 180 BPM in E major, the chorus and outro of "Rock This Town" push your right hand hard. The driving rockabilly feel demands tight, percussive picking with a strong sense of swing, so if the tempo is getting away from you, use the Practice Toolbar to slow these sections down and lock in the rhythm before bringing it back up to speed. The chorus riff sits comfortably in E standard, but keeping it clean at this pace while maintaining that punchy, upbeat attack is where most players struggle. The outro tends to escalate the energy further, so treat it as a separate loop target and use the A/B function to isolate just those bars. Stray Cats built their sound on classic Punk Rock energy filtered through a rockabilly lens, and this section captures both impulses at once. Focus on right-hand consistency and letting each note ring only as long as it should.

  • At 180 BPM in E standard, the chorus demands precise, high-speed rockabilly picking with a consistent swinging eighth-note feel throughout.
  • The outro builds intensity, making it worth isolating as its own loop in the Practice Toolbar to work on stamina and clean articulation.
  • Muting control is critical here: unwanted string noise becomes very audible at this tempo, so focus on both left and right-hand damping.

How to Play Rock This Town Pt.2 - Chorus & Outro

Tuning: E Standard · Key: E major · Tempo: 180 BPM

Loop the hardest passage and creep the speed up from around 70 percent until it holds at 180 BPM.

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.

Play with Backing Track

Play with Backing Track

Solo (Backing Track)

Solo (Backing Track)