Cincinnati musician, David Puthoff, has been handpicked by legendary Avenged Sevenfold guitarist Synyster Gates to take an intimate master class with the rockstar!

One of ten musicians chosen out of over 1500 submissions nationwide, David will be flown out to Hollywood on January 8th to learn the tricks of the trade from Synyster Gates himself. The ten winning musicians will also take home a fully-loaded music package including Synyster Gates’ signature-special Schecter guitar, Ernie Ball accessories and more.

“Avenged Sevenfold has always been a band that champions musicality,” said Synyster Gates. “I’m passionate about the art of guitar, and this Master Class is the perfect opportunity to help further the skills and careers of like-minded musicians.”

From his sound to his style, you’d be hard pressed to find a more distinctive musician in rock than Synyster Gates. As lead guitarist for Huntington Beach, California’s Avenged Sevenfold, Gates’ riff and rhythms have helped to power some of this millennium’s most inventive, invigorating, and forceful heavy music. And his work as a soloist, crafting leads that combine gut-level aggression and blinding speed with advanced melodic and harmonic concepts and techniques, has resulted in his being bestowed with numerous honors, including Guitar World’s Best Metal Guitarist, Total Guitar’s Guitarist of the Year, and, with his A7X band mate Zacky Vengeance, a Revolver Golden God for Best Guitarists. Gates recently launched the Hellwin line of amplifiers with the Hellwin USA 100, a 100-watt, three-channel, all-tube unit that he developed in conjunction with renowned amp designer James Brown.

CincyMusic.com sat down with David Puthoff about this incredible opportunity!

CincyMusic.com: What does the band Avenged Sevenfold mean to you?

David Puthoff: When I was younger I wanted to become a better and more established guitar player. I remember hearing Avenged when I was about 12 years old and I was hooked. They were the push I needed to continue with music and gave me the motivation to work harder. Now my whole family listens to them, my little sister has been listening since she was 8 years old and we've seen them about 4 - 5 times now as a family.

CM: How did you prepare and execute your lead guitar performance for the submission?

DP: I wrote parts for Buried Alive and Afterlife, but I felt Buried Alive gave me the opportunity to add different styles of playing especially the classical guitar parts I wrote for the song. For about 2-3 weeks, I practiced and wrote parts for it, then when I was ready to record. I recorded it all in one day within a 10 hour time period.

CM: How does it feel that you were handpicked out of thousands by Synyster Gates of Avenged Sevenfold?

DP: I honestly still don't know how to put it into words. He's been my favorite guitar player for years now and it's always been a dream to meet him.

CM: What is next? Plans for when you get back from your master class in Hollywood?

DP: As far as music goes, my bands The Requiem has big plans, and are ready to finish up writing for our first album cycle, as well as hitting the studio. We started back in 2011 and are finally able to get the ball rolling with our music and playing more shows. If you like Hard Rock/Metal go check out some of our songs, "Ashen Grave", "Deliverance", and "Wretched".