diff --git a/include/settings.hpp b/include/settings.hpp
index fca46e7e..9ae178e3 100644
--- a/include/settings.hpp
+++ b/include/settings.hpp
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ extern bool gSkipAutosaveOnLaunch;
 extern bool b_touchkeyboard_enable;
 
 void settingsSave(std::string filename);
-void settingsLoad(std::string filename, bool bWindowSizeOnly);
+bool settingsLoad(std::string filename, bool bWindowSizeOnly);
 
 
 } // namespace rack
diff --git a/src/main.cpp b/src/main.cpp
index aeb12e74..2ff81e69 100644
--- a/src/main.cpp
+++ b/src/main.cpp
@@ -91,7 +91,8 @@ int vst2_init(int argc, char* argv[], bool _bFX) {
    printf("xxx vst2_init: 9\n");
 	appInit(devMode);
    printf("xxx vst2_init: 10\n");
-   settingsLoad(assetLocal("settings.json"), false/*bWindowSizeOnly*/);
+   if(!settingsLoad(assetLocal("settings.json"), false/*bWindowSizeOnly*/))
+      settingsLoad(assetLocal("settings_default.json"), false/*bWindowSizeOnly*/);
    printf("xxx vst2_init: 11\n");
 
 #if 0
diff --git a/src/settings.cpp b/src/settings.cpp
index 1f72d873..aee86b21 100644
--- a/src/settings.cpp
+++ b/src/settings.cpp
@@ -471,11 +471,11 @@ void settingsSave(std::string filename) {
 	}
 }
 
-void settingsLoad(std::string filename, bool bWindowSizeOnly) {
+bool settingsLoad(std::string filename, bool bWindowSizeOnly) {
 	info("Loading settings %s", filename.c_str());
 	FILE *file = fopen(filename.c_str(), "r");
 	if (!file)
-		return;
+		return false;
 
 	json_error_t error;
 	json_t *rootJ = json_loadf(file, 0, &error);
@@ -488,6 +488,7 @@ void settingsLoad(std::string filename, bool bWindowSizeOnly) {
 	}
 
 	fclose(file);
+   return true;
 }
 
 
diff --git a/vst2_bin/settings.json b/vst2_bin/settings_default.json
similarity index 100%
rename from vst2_bin/settings.json
rename to vst2_bin/settings_default.json