diff --git a/gtk2_ardour/time_axis_view.cc b/gtk2_ardour/time_axis_view.cc
index c3d219cca8..b8f1c0ad15 100644
--- a/gtk2_ardour/time_axis_view.cc
+++ b/gtk2_ardour/time_axis_view.cc
@@ -170,6 +170,7 @@ TimeAxisView::TimeAxisView (ARDOUR::Session* sess, PublicEditor& ed, TimeAxisVie
 
 	controls_ebox.signal_button_release_event().connect (sigc::mem_fun (*this, &TimeAxisView::controls_ebox_button_release));
 	controls_ebox.signal_scroll_event().connect (sigc::mem_fun (*this, &TimeAxisView::controls_ebox_scroll), true);
+	controls_ebox.show ();
 
 	controls_hbox.pack_start (controls_ebox, true, true);
 	controls_hbox.show ();