The Birth of Loud : Leo Fender, Les Paul, and the Guitar-Pioneering Rivalry That Shaped Rock 'n' Roll
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"A hot-rod joy ride through mid-20th-century American history" (The New York Times Book Review), this one-of-a-kind narrative masterfully recreates the rivalry between the two men who innovated the electric guitar's amplified sound-Leo Fender and Les Paul-and their intense competition to convince rock stars like the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, and Eric Clapton to play the instruments they built. In the years after World War II, music was evolving from big-band jazz into rock 'n' roll-and these louder styles demanded revolutionary instruments. When Leo Fender's tiny firm marketed the first solid-body electric guitar, the Esquire, musicians immediately saw its appeal.
Not to be out-maneuvered, Gibson, the largest guitar manufacturer, raced to build a competitive product. The company designed an "axe" that would make Fender's Esquire look cheap and convinced Les Paul-whose endorsement Leo Fender had sought-to put his name on it. Thus was born the guitar world's most heated rivalry: Gibson versus Fender, Les versus Leo.
While Fender was a quiet, half-blind, self-taught radio repairman, Paul was a brilliant but headstrong pop star and guitarist who spent years toying with new musical technologies. Their contest turned into an arms race as the most inventive musicians of the 1950s and 1960s-including bluesman Muddy Waters, rocker Buddy Holly, the Beatles, Bob Dylan, and Eric Clapton-adopted one maker's guitar or another. By 1969 it was clear that these new electric instruments had launched music into a radical new age, empowering artists with a vibrancy and volume never before attainable.
In "an excellent dual portrait" (The Wall Street Journal), Ian S. Port tells the full story in The Birth of Loud, offering "spot-on human characterizations, and erotic paeans to the bodies of guitars" (The Atlantic). "The story of these instruments is the story of America in the postwar era: loud, cocky, brash, aggressively new" (The Washington Post).
Shipping Pricing Guide
Standard Delivery for Small Accessories + Vinyl Records - £3.50
Express Instrument & Amp Delivery (Next Working Day on orders placed before 1PM) - £9.99
There will be a small surcharge for Scottish Highlands & Ireland, please contact us for more info.
Dispatch Times
We aim to dispatch guitar orders SAME DAY, if you place your order before 1PM. Depending on the time of year this may change. The reason we don't always ship immediately, is all our guitars go through our workshop before shipping, to ensure it's setup and playing great for you.
If you require your guitar on a specific date, please get in touch with us after you place your order.
International Shipping
Shipping to most of Europe will be £80 via UPS. Please note, we're not liable for any import duty or charges you may incur due to Brexit. Please contact us for a quote.
USA Shipping £150 via UPS. - (Please contact us for a quote).
Rest of World £POA (Please contact us for a quote).
We expertly pack every item we send included in the price.
Please get in touch with us if you have any questions. Sales@mayalls.co.uk | 01492 588279
Returns Our policy lasts 14 days. If 14 days have gone by since your purchase, unfortunately we can’t offer you a refund, we may offer you an exchange or gift voucher.
To be eligible for a return, your item must be unused and in the same condition that you received it. It must also be in the original packaging.
Several types of goods are exempt from being returned. Perishable goods such as food, flowers, newspapers or magazines cannot be returned. We also do not accept products that are intimate or sanitary goods, hazardous materials, or flammable liquids or gases.
Additional non-returnable items: - Gift cards - Downloadable software products - Some health and personal care items
To complete your return, we require a receipt or proof of purchase. Please do not send your purchase back to the manufacturer.
There are certain situations where only partial refunds are granted - Guitars with any plastic cover pick guards or pickups. - Book with obvious signs of use
- CD, DVD, VHS tape, software, video game, cassette tape, or vinyl record that has been opened - Any item not in its original condition, is damaged or missing parts for reasons not due to our error - Any item that is returned more than 14 days after delivery
Refunds Once your return is received and inspected, we will send you an email to notify you that we have received your returned item. We will also notify you of the approval or rejection of your refund. If you are approved, then your refund will be processed, and a credit will automatically be applied to your credit card or original method of payment, within a certain amount of days.
Late or missing refunds If you haven’t received a refund yet, first check your bank account again. Then contact your credit card company, it may take some time before your refund is officially posted. Next contact your bank. There is often some processing time before a refund is posted. If you’ve done all of this and you still have not received your refund yet, please contact us at sales@mayalls.co.uk.
Exchanges We only replace items if they are defective or damaged. If you need to exchange it for the same item, send us an email at sales@mayalls.co.uk and send your item to: Mayalls Music Ltd., 9 Bangor Road, Conwy, LL32 8NG, United Kingdom.
Gifts If the item was marked as a gift when purchased and shipped directly to you, you’ll receive a gift credit for the value of your return. Once the returned item is received, a gift certificate will be mailed to you.
If the item wasn’t marked as a gift when purchased, or the gift giver had the order shipped to themselves to give to you later, we will send a refund to the gift giver and he will find out about your return.
Shipping To return your product, you should ship your product to: Mayalls Music Ltd., 9 Bangor Road, Conwy, LL32 8NG, United Kingdom.
You are responsible for shipping your return item(s) back to us.
You will be responsible for paying for your own shipping costs for returning your item.
If you are shipping an item over £25, you should consider using a trackable shipping service and/or purchasing shipping insurance. We are not responsible for any loss or damage that may occur in transit back to us.
