diff --git a/gtk2_ardour/editor_drag.cc b/gtk2_ardour/editor_drag.cc
index d36aefec00..35e9d395c5 100644
--- a/gtk2_ardour/editor_drag.cc
+++ b/gtk2_ardour/editor_drag.cc
@@ -3962,7 +3962,7 @@ CursorDrag::start_grab (GdkEvent* event, Gdk::Cursor* c)
 		}
 
 
-		if (AudioEngine::instance()->connected()) {
+		if (AudioEngine::instance()->running()) {
 
 			/* do this only if we're the engine is connected
 			 * because otherwise this request will never be