In 1978, Dennis Eder's daughter was taking music lessons and was told to rent an alto sax. He tried the larger music rental and "Chain Super Stores" but was not very happy with the way that people interested in wind instruments were treated by most of the "non-woodwind knowledgeable clerks" and "pseudo rock stars" staffing these shops.
Dennis did find a local dealer to explain if he would be better off renting or buying a horn. He was shown a modern Selmer Bundy and remembering his old band class days, (Dennis was a music teacher in the New York school system for some 30 years), along with his frustration of being a piano major yet being a "Saxoholic wannabe," made him see that this grade of instrument was not something that would make him, his daughter, or her sax teacher very happy.
While looking around the music store, he noticed a Buescher alto sax in silver and covered with black tarnish. The shop owner, who was also arepairman, told Dennis that he and his daughter would not be satisfied with such an old instrument, yet Dennis kind of had a feeling that the workmanship and the materials used in making this forsaken, old-looking alto were of a higher quality than those of the Bundy.
After some "tweaking" and cleaning, even the repair person could not believe the difference and the rich sound quality of the vintage Buescher compared to the modern Bundy. This led Dennis to uncover a little known fact in the musical instrument field. These shops and repair people were actually doing things, in the past, like selling these horns just for silver content and parts for repairs. Not only did this sound crazy to Dennis but it also gave him an idea of how to create a business where people could not only get what they are looking for but get top quality instruments at fair prices and all the while be treated in the best possible manner.
He has since become one of the world's best known authorities on the subject of saxophones and he is often quoted in such publications as the New York Times and Downbeat Magazine and is even recommended as a primary information source by the Selmer Corporation in France. The late Pink Floyd Sax man Gary Windo, who used to work for Dennis at USA HORN, once referred to Dennis as the "Professor" of Saxophone and it has since become more of a prophecy than a nickname.
With a business that was growing at a brisk rate, Dennis was in need of a highly skilled repair technician. In 1991 Dennis had the good fortune to take in Mark Rakita, an expert repairman and professional musician. In the years to come, with Dennis as his mentor, Mark acquired a well rounded education of saxophones, wind instruments and the workings of a music store. As the new millennium was arriving, Mark found himself with the experience and knowledge that put him in the position of managing USA Horn.
Fast forward several years.... Dennis is looking forward to a bit of free time that an administrative role could afford him. With his confidence high that his "baby" would be in good hands, he passed the reigns, for the daily operation of the business, over to Mark. Under Mark's enthusiastic direction and with Dennis' invaluable input, USA Horn now has customers on all 7 continents (yes, Antarctica is included) and can boast an enhanced level of service and expertise over that which made it a success in it's formative years.