diff --git a/bin/effecteval b/bin/effecteval
--- a/bin/effecteval
+++ b/bin/effecteval
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ class SongEffects(PrettyErrorHandler, cy
         except Exception: # which?
             song = yield currentSong()
 
-        event = self.get_argument('event') or 'default'
+        event = self.get_argument('event', default='default')
             
         log.info("adding to %s", song)