What is Auto Makeup Gain and Why is it Useful in Compressor Plugins?

Published Jul 21, 2025

Discover what Auto Makeup Gain is, why we use it and say hello to the Waves compressor plugins that have been updated to include it.

What is Auto Makeup Gain and Why is it Useful in Compressor Plugins?

In the release of Waves V16, we’ve added Auto Makeup Gain to several of our most popular compressor plugins. In this article, you’ll learn what’s good about Auto Gain and how to get the best from it.

What is Auto Makeup Gain?

Also known as Auto Gain Compensation, this feature automatically adjusts the output level of a plugin to match the input level. Its purpose is to balance out any level changes caused by the plugin’s processing, making it easier to compare the before and after performance of applied effects such as compression.

Auto Makeup Gain in Waves CLA-3A compressor plugin

Auto Gain is an extremely useful tool because it prevents our ears from being fooled by changes in volume. When you compress a signal, the overall level usually drops, so we often add some Makeup Gain to bring it back up. Auto Gain does this automatically. Without it, or without manually setting Makeup Gain, it can be difficult to hear and judge what a compressor is actually doing to sound.

Which Waves Plugins Have Auto Makeup Gain?

The Waves V16 update, released in June 2025, introduced Auto Makeup Gain to several classic compressor plugins:

Some Waves plugins already included Auto Gain before this update:

  • API 2500 compressor, which was already equipped with Auto Gain.
  • Curves Equator resonance suppressor, which was released recently with Auto Gain
  • Curves AQ equalizer, which was released recently with Auto Gain

Also worth mentioning is IDX Intelligent Dynamics, released in 2024. It includes a Quick Match button that automatically adjusts the Output Gain to match the input level, making it easier to maintain consistent loudness while tweaking compression settings.

Many Waves limiters also offer a similar kind of control as well being the option to link the Ceiling and Threshold parameters - either by dragging the dual-arrow button or by Shift-clicking both controls to move them together.

What Does Auto Makeup Gain Help You Avoid?

Waves RS125 compressor plugins with Auto Gain

Letting a compressor handle makeup gain for you ensures you’re hearing the true character and behaviour of your compression. Since compression lowers the level of a signal, its effect can be harder to notice after processing. By boosting the output gain (whether manually or with Auto Gain) to match the input level, you’re able to make a fair comparison. You’ll hear the same overall loudness, but with the tonal and dynamic changes clearly revealed.

Before Auto Makeup Gain: When We Used Both Hands

In the hardware days, working with outboard compressors often meant using both hands. One hand would dial in the compression amount while the other adjusted output gain. It was second nature for many seasoned engineers.

With plugins, we’re limited to one mouse click at a time. While the habit of compensating for gain didn’t disappear, doing it in a plugin became more of a chore. Adjusting output gain became an extra step that many would either rush through or skip entirely. Auto Gain brings back the ease and immediacy we once had with two hands on hardware, making it far easier to judge how your compression is really affecting the sound.

Waves CLA-76 compressor plugin with Auto Gain

Auto Gain in EQ plugins

EQ might be doing its thing on the level of frequency bands, but depending on what you’ve set up exactly, there will usually be an overall increase or decrease in the level of the signal thanks to your cumulative changes.

If you’ve made more cuts than boosts, you’d expect the cumulative change in overall gain to be negative, but that’s not so clear cut: in an EQ, the overall change between the input and output levels also depends on the signal itself. If you performed a huge low-frequency cut on a signal that didn’t have much low end energy, and a small mid-range boost to a signal that had a lot of mid-range energy, your output could be higher overall.

While Auto Makeup Gain in EQ is a great feature to have, its powers are best revealed in more traditional styles of dynamics plugins.

When Is Manual Gain Still Useful?

Waves V-Comp compressor plugin with Auto Gain

Auto Gain is incredibly useful, but like many features in audio processing, its behaviour depends on context. As developers, we make thoughtful choices about how to implement Auto Gain to work effectively across a wide range of use cases and source material.

For example, just as you can shape a compressor’s behaviour with different attack and release times, Auto Gain can be designed to respond to short peaks or longer sustained levels. It might calculate gain compensation over quick transients or take a broader view of the signal’s average energy, depending on what works best for the tool.

In some cases, Auto Gain is influenced by control settings—like in an EQ, where the plugin may analyse the combined boosts and cuts to intelligently estimate the required output adjustment. Still, the final result always depends on the source material, which can vary wildly from track to track.

That’s why tools like IDX’s Quick Match are so powerful. They offer guidance tailored to the actual signal, helping you lock in the right level quickly and confidently. And of course, there’s always the option to trust your ears and make fine adjustments manually. Auto Gain is a great starting point—but mixing is still an art, and having both options available gives you the best of both worlds.

Get Auto Gain in Waves V16 Plugins

Waves CLA-2A compressor plugin with Auto Gain

More on Waves V16

If you would like to update your Waves plugins to V16 to get Auto Gain in the plugins highlighted in this article, you can do so simply via Waves Central. Other additions in V16 include GUI corner stretch for resizing all plugins, new designs for MaxxBass, IR-Live, and the V-Series, and huge improvements to COSMOS with DAW sync and auditioning.

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