Restoring Jeff Newman’s Work and Preserving His Legacy

By the end of 2021, Jeffran College had shut down, and Jeff Newman’s instructional materials started becoming increasingly scarce. From personal experience – calling stores across the country and contacting various online retailers – I can attest that even new old stock has all but disappeared. This shortage is also apparent on the used market, where bidding wars on eBay are now common. So, instead of letting Jeff’s work be consigned to the dustbin of history, I’m working to preserve the extensive body of work he spent decades building.

Disclaimer

I want to be clear: I cannot and will not sell, lend, or in any way distribute copies of Jeff Newman’s lessons. Please do not ask me to copy or duplicate any material because I will not do it. My efforts are to restore and preserve, not to distribute. Period. If a legal and ethical opportunity to bring Jeff’s work back into publication should arise in the future, I would be open to assisting in any way I can.

How I Got Started

In my efforts to acquire Jeff’s lessons on the used market, I faced the reality that many of them are decades old and have seen heavy use over the years. As a result, the books often have markings, exhibit significant wear, and are easily susceptible to further damage. Similarly, audio on cassette and vinyl typically exhibits some degradation due to age and repeated use. CDs also face quality issues, including scratches, but production-related problems like data corruption, digital clipping, and timing errors can also impact playback. VHS tapes likewise suffer from the effects of time and use, and lastly, DVDs can have any number of issues affecting proper playback.

Having years of experience with graphic design tools, audio production, and (to a lesser extent) video production, I was fortunate to have the skills needed to digitally restore the lessons I acquired. So, I began working to digitize and preserve my entire collection of lessons in a way that made them essentially “new”. Initially, I did this just for my own benefit, but I’ve since committed to putting in the extra effort to do the job with a level of care and attention to detail that is fitting of Jeff’s legacy as “Steel’s Foremost Instructor“.

Book Restoration Examples

Here are a few before-and-after examples of book pages I have restored:

Here is an example that shows the restoration of one of the fretboard “cards” that were sold as part of Jeff’s Pedal Power course. These cards lay flat on your fretboard below your strings while you play and serve as a visual guide to various chord positions.

Audio Restoration Examples

Here is a passage of audio where the original pressing of the CD contained digital clipping. I was able to remove the digital clipping.

Here is a passage of audio transferred from a vinyl record. I was able to remove the pops, clicks, and surface noise.

Here is a passage of audio transferred from tape. I was able to reduce the noise and improve the clarity and overall quality of the audio.

Video Restoration Examples

Here is an example where the audio from a DVD was only in the left channel for the entire video. While this is likely to go unnoticed when viewing on a regular television (as I’m sure most of Jeff’s students did many years ago), it is an annoyance for viewers using headphones or good stereo speakers as is more often the case today. To fix this, I duplicated the audio to the right channel. I also increased the volume of the video to a better listening level.

Here is an example of a video that was transferred from a VHS tape. I was able to reduce the noise and improve the quality of the audio.

How You Can Help

I continue working through a substantial amount of material, making weekly progress. I also continue searching for original copies of Jeff’s many courses in the best physical condition that I can find. It is a labor of love that I’ve devoted significant time and financial resources to. If you’d like to show support, please consider making a purchase.