COMPANY PROFILE

TIMELINE

1994

THE BEGINNING

Cicognani engineering was born with the specific task of planning, study, design and production. Guglielmo was involved as a guitar tech, guitar sound consultant in the stages of the major events of the period.

1994-2000

1998

GATTO PANCERI TOUR

Guitar tech on Gatto Panceri Tour 1998 specially to the guitar player Walter Vincenti.

1999

CAPO HORN TOUR '99

Guglielmo has had the pleasure of being consultant and guitar tech of the producer Michele Centonze during these years. A very special memory is certainly Jovanotti’s Capo Horn Tour ’99.

2000

SQUEREZ TOUR

He was involved also as a guitar tech and guitar sound consultant of Mike Giuliani in the Squerez Tour of Lunapop.

2000

PAVAROTTI AND FRIENDS

Also in the early 2000’s the Guru was involved as a guitar tech and guitar sound consultant in various stages of the major events of the period; we proudly remember an edition of “Pavarotti and Friends” where we had the pleasure to met the “Maestro”.

2002

COLLABORATION WITH MARANELLO

In 2002 we had the pleasure of designing and creating the electronic launch of the audio-video spot for the first Ferrari official Store in Maranello. The Store is equipped with a new audiovisual system created exclusively for Ferrari, which takes advantage of the special automated management of Mbva sounds and images, enveloping the public with special visual and sound effects that give the impression of being truly at the racetrack.

2003

A CRAZY IDEA: BRUTUS

With Donato Begotti and thanks to one of my crazy intuitions, BRUTUS was born, a small, light two-channel head, with a power of only 11W in class A able to scream to the world the birth of the first “rock in low power head”; subsequently taken as an innovative reference and re-proposed by most of the competing producers.

2006

COLLABORATION WITH FBT

The increasing demand for CICOGNANI and BRUTUS products combined with the desire to concentrate all my strength towards the purely technical part directs me to a choice of collaboration with FBT Elettronica, a historic Italian company that has been present on the international market for years.

2009

IMPERIUM SERIES AND LUXURY

With FBT an intense path where innovations such as “Imperium H150” mature in the catalog, the first “Guitar All Valve Amp” all memorable but with a completely analog signal path and subsequently “Imperium Luxury”, as an evolution of the previous version characterized by a single large knob that in a simple and intuitive way allowed to control all its functions.

2010/2011

RE MATTO TOUR and SOLO 2.0

Involved as a guitar tech and guitar sound consultant of Peter Cornacchia and Stefano Calabrese in the Re Matto Tour of Marco Mengoni in 2010. Given the excellent experience also in the 2011 I followed them in Solo 2.0 Tour.

2013-2017

2013

A NEW BRAND IS BORN

The collaboration with FBT ends in 2012 in order to leave room for the birth of a new project of mine in total autonomy. A new idea a new brand called GURUS (Slang of my nickname “The Guru”), following a new story. It starts with a small range of pedal effects and tube amplifiers where innovation on the latter consists in being able to interface smartphones, tablets, PCs, in order to make the most of these external devices such as sound banks.

2013

COLLABORATION WITH POSITIVE GRID

A new era opens a new collaboration with Positive Grid, an American company owner and leader of the well-known amply and effects simulation software called JamUp which integrates the sounds of GURUS NAKED together with the older ones and which in the past have written the most beautiful pages of the international discography. An acknowledgment that fills me with enormous joy is having long been in first place in the sales chart on the sound downloads of my NAKED.

2014

NEW CHALLENGES, NEW PROJECTS

The GURUS brand is ready for new challenges and to expand its market around the world. In 2014 was born the GURUS SRL company with two new partner: Chicco Bellini and Alberto Pagani. It focus shifts more to pedal effects and accessories where he receives international awards and merits with the products I have studied.

“Present in over thirty-five countries around the world today it is a reality that is beautifully represented by the best international artists, recording studios and guitarists… and I’m very proud of it.”

2015

DOUBLEDECKER 1959

“I designed the DoubleDecker to offer the main plexi sounds in a single pedal. This pedal integrates two different overdrives, a full effects loop, a solo boost and a fully analog switching system. This product has been appreciated all over the world and used by many important artists and I’m proud of it.”

2017-PRESENT

2017

A NEW LIFE

Guglielmo Cicognani leaves the now mature GURUS SRL to continue with a new story, new motivation and in total autonomy by proposing a renewed and even more performing range of products. The commitment is to satisfy all those who have expressed their desire to have a product conceived, designed and built only and exclusively in Italy.

2019

THE SUCCESS OF POMPEII PE603

After the success of our Boutique Series we decide to launch a new challenge: POMPEII PE603. It’s an echo unit that aims to revive the emotions of the past but in a smaller pedal and with improved sonic performance. Tonewise the PE603 provides from classic slap-back to up to 740mS delay.

2021

TIMELESS SERIES

New idea and new line. TIMELESS SERIES is equipped with true bypass switches in order to guarantee the maximum transparency of the bypass signal and a hi quality tube. We have designed a new circuit around an innovative, compact, practical and robust chassis. The hand drawn pcb integrates a voltage booster stage able to the valve to ensure a greater signal dynamics.

2022

JONATHAN WILSON | ROGER WATERS TOUR

In 2022 we had the pleasure of starting a collaboration with Jonathan Wilson for the final stages of the Roger Waters: THIS IS NOT A DRILL 2022 TOUR. He performed with our POMPEII T1 the last 3 leg in Mexico.
“I’m using the POMPEII every night and I absolutely love it.” “What you have made is truely amazing.” Those are some of the words of Jonathan regarding our product and we are very proud!
Our collaboration was also confirmed for the 2023 European tour.

2023

JON CARIN AND GUS SEYFFERT

Following the collaboration with Jonathan Wilson, our products were highly appreciated, so much so that Gus Seyffert, another member of the band present at the Roger Waters Tour, decided he wanted to use our POMPEII PE603 in his recording studio. From the Bologna date of the European tour Jon Carin also decided to equip himself with two POMPEII T1 and from that moment we started exchanging different ideas for the creation of a new project.

2024

LE PRISM - 30th ANNIVERSARY

LE PRISM is an Italian echo born to celebrate our 30th anniversary thanks to the precious advice received from Roger Waters tour artists Jon Carin and Jonathan Wilson combined with Giampaolo Noto. They where performed many test, analyzed the direct and recording signals. We have checked the average delay time and synchronized on the subject of a real evolution of the product. LE PRISM is a “creative” machine designed for the recording studio and live performances that integrates the history of analog sounds of those old models of “Italian Echo” ranging from Model 1 up to PE603 stereo unit. Offers 4 delay times + 4 selectable feedbacks, summable and adjustable as desired