diff --git a/src/sfizz/Parser.cpp b/src/sfizz/Parser.cpp
index 5d2c643e..cd1db80a 100644
--- a/src/sfizz/Parser.cpp
+++ b/src/sfizz/Parser.cpp
@@ -43,11 +43,11 @@ void removeCommentOnLine(absl::string_view& line)
 
 bool sfz::Parser::loadSfzFile(const fs::path& file)
 {
-    const auto sfzFile = file.is_absolute() ? file : defaultPath / file;
+    const auto sfzFile = file.is_absolute() ? file : originalDirectory / file;
     if (!fs::exists(sfzFile))
         return false;
 
-    defaultPath = file.parent_path();
+    originalDirectory = file.parent_path();
     std::vector<std::string> lines;
     readSfzFile(file, lines);
 
@@ -105,7 +105,7 @@ void sfz::Parser::readSfzFile(const fs::path& fileName, std::vector<std::string>
         if (std::regex_search(tmpView.begin(), tmpView.end(), includeMatch, sfz::Regexes::includes)) {
             auto includePath = includeMatch.str(1);
             std::replace(includePath.begin(), includePath.end(), '\\', '/');
-            const auto newFile = defaultPath / includePath;
+            const auto newFile = originalDirectory / includePath;
             auto alreadyIncluded = std::find(includedFiles.begin(), includedFiles.end(), newFile);
             if (fs::exists(newFile)) {
                 if (alreadyIncluded == includedFiles.end()) {
diff --git a/src/sfizz/Parser.h b/src/sfizz/Parser.h
index cb767582..222fd153 100644
--- a/src/sfizz/Parser.h
+++ b/src/sfizz/Parser.h
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ public:
     void enableRecursiveIncludeGuard() { recursiveIncludeGuard = true; }
 protected:
     virtual void callback(absl::string_view header, const std::vector<Opcode>& members) = 0;
-    fs::path defaultPath { fs::current_path() };
+    fs::path originalDirectory { fs::current_path() };
 private:
     bool recursiveIncludeGuard { false };
     std::map<std::string, std::string> defines;
diff --git a/src/sfizz/Synth.cpp b/src/sfizz/Synth.cpp
index 3ddcef11..57a17e75 100644
--- a/src/sfizz/Synth.cpp
+++ b/src/sfizz/Synth.cpp
@@ -189,7 +189,7 @@ void sfz::Synth::handleControlOpcodes(const std::vector<Opcode>& members)
             [[fallthrough]];
         case hash("default_path"): {
             const auto stringPath = absl::StrReplaceAll(trim(member.value), { { "\\", "/" } });
-            const auto newPath = defaultPath / fs::path(stringPath);
+            const auto newPath = originalDirectory / fs::path(stringPath);
             if (fs::exists(newPath)) {
                 DBG("Changing default sample path to " << stringPath);
                 defaultPath = newPath;
@@ -229,6 +229,7 @@ bool sfz::Synth::loadSfzFile(const fs::path& filename)
     }
 
     clear();
+    defaultPath = filename.parent_path();
     auto parserReturned = sfz::Parser::loadSfzFile(filename);
     if (!parserReturned)
         return false;
diff --git a/src/sfizz/Synth.h b/src/sfizz/Synth.h
index 9aa8b6d9..7db4a65c 100644
--- a/src/sfizz/Synth.h
+++ b/src/sfizz/Synth.h
@@ -446,6 +446,9 @@ private:
     Resources resources;
     MidiState midiState;
 
+    // default_path
+    fs::path defaultPath { };
+
     LEAK_DETECTOR(Synth);
 };