diff --git a/libs/ardour/import.cc b/libs/ardour/import.cc
index 3ed028ef91..90a15c9e78 100644
--- a/libs/ardour/import.cc
+++ b/libs/ardour/import.cc
@@ -417,14 +417,14 @@ write_midi_data_to_new_files (Evoral::SMF* source, ImportStatus& status,
 					break;
 				}
 			} else {
-				info << string_compose (_("Track %1 of %2 contained no usable MIDI data"), i, source->file_path()) << endmsg;
+				info << string_compose (_("Track %1 of %2 contained no usable MIDI data"), i, source->num_tracks()) << endmsg;
 			}
 
 			++s; // next source
 		}
 
-	} catch (...) {
-		error << string_compose (_("MIDI file %1 was not readable (no reason available)"), source->file_path()) << endmsg;
+	} catch (exception& e) {
+		error << string_compose (_("MIDI file could not be written (best guess: %1)"), e.what()) << endmsg;
 	}
 
 	if (buf) {
diff --git a/libs/ardour/smf_source.cc b/libs/ardour/smf_source.cc
index d5c89b5ee9..d2d96247fc 100644
--- a/libs/ardour/smf_source.cc
+++ b/libs/ardour/smf_source.cc
@@ -546,7 +546,7 @@ SMFSource::mark_midi_streaming_write_completed (const Lock& lm, Evoral::Sequence
 		_model->set_edited(false);
 	}
 
-	Evoral::SMF::end_write ();
+	Evoral::SMF::end_write (_path);
 
 	/* data in the file now, not removable */
 
@@ -726,7 +726,7 @@ SMFSource::flush_midi (const Lock& lock)
 
 	ensure_disk_file (lock);
 
-	Evoral::SMF::end_write ();
+	Evoral::SMF::end_write (_path);
 	/* data in the file means its no longer removable */
 	mark_nonremovable ();
 
@@ -737,7 +737,6 @@ void
 SMFSource::set_path (const string& p)
 {
 	FileSource::set_path (p);
-	SMF::set_path (_path);
 }
 
 /** Ensure that this source has some file on disk, even if it's just a SMF header */
diff --git a/libs/evoral/evoral/SMF.hpp b/libs/evoral/evoral/SMF.hpp
index 9d43426a8f..fd7263b5c4 100644
--- a/libs/evoral/evoral/SMF.hpp
+++ b/libs/evoral/evoral/SMF.hpp
@@ -58,8 +58,6 @@ public:
 	int  create(const std::string& path, int track=1, uint16_t ppqn=19200) THROW_FILE_ERROR;
 	void close() THROW_FILE_ERROR;
 
-	const std::string& file_path() const { return _file_path; };
-
 	void seek_to_start() const;
 	int  seek_to_track(int track);
 
@@ -71,17 +69,13 @@ public:
 
 	void begin_write();
 	void append_event_delta(uint32_t delta_t, uint32_t size, const uint8_t* buf, event_id_t note_id);
-	void end_write() THROW_FILE_ERROR;
+	void end_write(std::string const &) THROW_FILE_ERROR;
 
 	void flush() {};
 
 	double round_to_file_precision (double val) const;
 
-protected:
-	void set_path (const std::string& p);
-
 private:
-	std::string  _file_path;
 	smf_t*       _smf;
 	smf_track_t* _smf_track;
 	bool         _empty; ///< true iff file contains(non-empty) events
diff --git a/libs/evoral/src/SMF.cpp b/libs/evoral/src/SMF.cpp
index 0a5bf589f5..c4e06823a9 100644
--- a/libs/evoral/src/SMF.cpp
+++ b/libs/evoral/src/SMF.cpp
@@ -108,9 +108,7 @@ SMF::open(const std::string& path, int track) THROW_FILE_ERROR
 		smf_delete(_smf);
 	}
 
-	_file_path = path;
-
-	FILE* f = fopen(_file_path.c_str(), "r");
+	FILE* f = fopen(path.c_str(), "r");
 	if (f == 0) {
 		return -1;
 	} else if ((_smf = smf_load(f)) == 0) {
@@ -151,8 +149,6 @@ SMF::create(const std::string& path, int track, uint16_t ppqn) THROW_FILE_ERROR
 		smf_delete(_smf);
 	}
 
-	_file_path = path;
-
 	_smf = smf_new();
 
 	if (_smf == NULL) {
@@ -180,7 +176,7 @@ SMF::create(const std::string& path, int track, uint16_t ppqn) THROW_FILE_ERROR
 	{
 		/* put a stub file on disk */
 
-		FILE* f = fopen (_file_path.c_str(), "w+");
+		FILE* f = fopen (path.c_str(), "w+");
 		if (f == 0) {
 			return -1;
 		}
@@ -401,17 +397,17 @@ SMF::begin_write()
 }
 
 void
-SMF::end_write() THROW_FILE_ERROR
+SMF::end_write(string const & path) THROW_FILE_ERROR
 {
 	Glib::Threads::Mutex::Lock lm (_smf_lock);
-	FILE* f = fopen (_file_path.c_str(), "w+");
+	FILE* f = fopen (path.c_str(), "w+");
 	if (f == 0) {
-		throw FileError (_file_path);
+		throw FileError (path);
 	}
 
 	if (smf_save(_smf, f) != 0) {
 		fclose(f);
-		throw FileError (_file_path);
+		throw FileError (path);
 	}
 
 	fclose(f);
@@ -425,10 +421,4 @@ SMF::round_to_file_precision (double val) const
 	return round (val * div) / div;
 }
 
-void
-SMF::set_path (const std::string& p)
-{
-	_file_path = p;
-}
-
 } // namespace Evoral