diff --git a/fluidsynth/CMakeLists.txt b/fluidsynth/CMakeLists.txt
index 4528524e..004b0220 100644
--- a/fluidsynth/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/fluidsynth/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -265,6 +265,11 @@ if ( enable-debug )
           "Choose the build type, options: Debug Release RelWithDebInfo" FORCE )
 endif ( enable-debug )
 
+if ( NOT CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE )
+    set ( CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE "RelWithDebInfo" CACHE STRING
+          "Choose the build type, options: Debug Release RelWithDebInfo" FORCE )
+endif ( NOT CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE )
+
 unset ( ENABLE_DEBUG CACHE )
 unset ( DEBUG CACHE )
 if ( CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE MATCHES "Debug" )
diff --git a/fluidsynth/cmake_admin/report.cmake b/fluidsynth/cmake_admin/report.cmake
index e8565e85..c79ffd29 100644
--- a/fluidsynth/cmake_admin/report.cmake
+++ b/fluidsynth/cmake_admin/report.cmake
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 message( "\n**************************************************************\n"
          "Summary:" )
 
+message( "Build type:            " ${CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE} )
+
 if ( LIBSNDFILE_SUPPORT )
   if ( LIBSNDFILE_HASVORBIS )
     message ( "libsndfile:            yes (with ogg vorbis support)" )