diff --git a/src/std/rec/aSubRecord.c b/src/std/rec/aSubRecord.c
index c014dd093..c4e99f430 100644
--- a/src/std/rec/aSubRecord.c
+++ b/src/std/rec/aSubRecord.c
@@ -206,6 +206,14 @@ static long init_record(aSubRecord *prec, int pass)
     }
     strcpy(prec->onam, prec->snam);
     prec->oval = prec->val;
+    for (i = 0; i < NUM_ARGS; i++) {
+        epicsUInt32 nev = (&prec->neva)[i];
+
+        (&prec->onva)[i] = nev;
+        if (nev)
+            memcpy((&prec->ovla)[i], (&prec->vala)[i],
+                dbValueSize((&prec->ftva)[i]) * nev);
+    }
     return 0;
 }