Tone library / Stray cats / Rock this town

Rock this town amp settings — Fender Deluxe 90

The Stray cats guitar tone for “Rock this town”, dialed in for a Fender Deluxe 90 with a Grestch G2420. Studio version, Built for Speed (1982) — live rig recreation since studio was direct-to-console

Original rig

1959 Gretsch 6120 with Filter'Tron humbuckers → Boss DM-2 Analog Delay → 1963 Fender Bassman 6G6-B (Bass channel)

Bright, snappy rockabilly twang with tight low-mids, pushed to the edge of breakup with percussive slapback echo

Amp settings — Fender Deluxe 90

CHANNELClean (Drive channel off)

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	4
Bass	4
Mid	6
Treble	7
Presence	8
Reverb	2
Master	6

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge+middle TONE7 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Boss BD-2 Blues Driver

Used as clean boost to push amp to edge of breakup — mimics the Bassman's pushed clean headroom

Level 7 · Tone 6 · Gain 2

02Boss GE-7 Equalizer

Slight upper-mid push at 1.6-3.2kHz for Setzer's characteristic bark and cut

100Hz 4 · 200Hz 5 · 400Hz 6 · 800Hz 6 · 1.6kHz 6 · 3.2kHz 7 · 6.4kHz 5 · Level 5

03Delay (slapback)

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. Essential for this tone. Boss DM-2W or any analog delay. Set 80-100ms, single repeat. The slapback is non-negotiable for rockabilly rhythm.

Time 2 · Feedback 0 · Mix 5

Why these settings

The Deluxe 90 is darker and less touch-sensitive than the Bassman, so treble and presence are pushed higher (+1 each vs original). The BD-2 at low gain mimics the Bassman's pushed clean headroom — Setzer's tone lives right at the edge of breakup, not into distortion. Without a slapback delay, you will not get this tone; it is the defining element.

PRO TIPThe rhythm is in the delay, not your wrist. Set slapback around 80-100ms with one repeat, then let your downstrokes lock into the echo — the delay plays the offbeat for you. Setzer uses a medium pick with aggressive attack on the wound strings for that percussive 'click' on the low notes.

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These settings are for a Fender Deluxe 90. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

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Song, artist and gear names are used to identify the tone being matched; ToneAdapt is not affiliated with or endorsed by the artists or manufacturers mentioned. Settings are AI-generated starting points — trust your ears.