diff --git a/libs/pbd/pbd/properties.h b/libs/pbd/pbd/properties.h
index fa8e4cf3eb..01aed7cef0 100644
--- a/libs/pbd/pbd/properties.h
+++ b/libs/pbd/pbd/properties.h
@@ -291,7 +291,7 @@ public:
 
 private:
 	std::string to_string (std::string const& v) const {
-		return _current;
+		return v;
 	}
 
 	std::string from_string (std::string const& s) const {