A loud story, but genial (7)
I believe the answer is:
affable
'genial' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'a loud story' is the wordplay.
'loud' becomes 'f' (short for forte - 'loud' in music).
'story' becomes 'fable' (fable is a kind of story).
'a'+'f'+'fable'='AFFABLE'
'but' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for affable that I've seen before include "Pleasantly friendly" , "Genial and friendly" , "Pleasant and friendly in manner" , "Congenial, easy to walk" , "having easy manners" .)