That'll Be The Day is where a lot of people first heard a Stratocaster doing what a Stratocaster does. Holly's rhythm playing is clean and chiming rather than driven, and the solo is short, melodic and played with the fingers as much as the pick.
What makes the tone. Clean Strat with a bit of amp warmth on the loud notes, the neck or middle pickup for the rhythm, more bridge for the solo. Slapback echo throughout - short, single repeat, the Clovis studio sound.
The analogue recipe. A Stratocaster into a tweed combo, volume set so the chords stay clean but the solo notes bloom. Tape echo at roughly 120ms, one repeat. Keep the tone control on the guitar rolled back slightly for the rhythm and open it for the lead.
On a Boss GT-100 / GT-1000 / GX-100. Clean tweed or blackface model with just a little drive, a slapback delay and a very light spring reverb. Use the guitar's volume knob rather than a boost for the solo - the whole record moves on picking dynamics.
On a Kemper. A low-gain tweed profile with plenty of headroom, slapback delay in the delay slot. The bloom on the solo notes should come from hitting the strings harder, not from a gain block.
Skip the guesswork. The Soulster Tonebook for fans of Classic '50s Rock 'n' Roll → has the chords, capo positions, tempos and dialled-in settings for this one.
See all 88 Rock 'n' Roll Originators prints →
Put it on the wall. The "That'll Be The Day" Film Noir print → is the same song, printed. Also on the Practice print → and the Studio print →.
Taste Guitar Tone: Jangle Before the Wall
The Game Guitar Tone: Late Bunnymen Polish