diff --git a/libs/ardour/audio_track.cc b/libs/ardour/audio_track.cc
index 33a5ba8f37..c056763efc 100644
--- a/libs/ardour/audio_track.cc
+++ b/libs/ardour/audio_track.cc
@@ -187,16 +187,16 @@ AudioTrack::set_state (const XMLNode& node, int version)
 {
 	const XMLProperty *prop;
 
-	if (Track::set_state (node, version)) {
-		return -1;
-	}
-
 	if ((prop = node.property (X_("mode"))) != 0) {
 		_mode = TrackMode (string_2_enum (prop->value(), _mode));
 	} else {
 		_mode = Normal;
 	}
 
+	if (Track::set_state (node, version)) {
+		return -1;
+	}
+
 	pending_state = const_cast<XMLNode*> (&node);
 
 	if (_session.state_of_the_state() & Session::Loading) {