diff --git a/libs/temporal/tempo.cc b/libs/temporal/tempo.cc
index 29c372db6d..927ee2adef 100644
--- a/libs/temporal/tempo.cc
+++ b/libs/temporal/tempo.cc
@@ -907,7 +907,7 @@ TempoMap::copy ( timepos_t const & start, timepos_t const & end)
 TempoMapCutBuffer*
 TempoMap::cut_copy (timepos_t const & start, timepos_t const & end, bool copy, bool ripple)
 {
-	if (n_tempos() == 1 && n_meters() == 1) {
+	if (!copy && (n_tempos() == 1 && n_meters() == 1)) {
 		return nullptr;
 	}