I definitely have the "ping" issue, though I figured that was due to the little metal guys that hold the strings in place halfway between the nut and the tuning pegs. Only the high strings do it, the low three don't. Other than that, open chords all sound pretty good on the guitar. I did have it set up at a local shop that has a pretty good reputation. I have a feeling it really just wouldn't be worth it to do much to the nut on this one - it doesn't sound bad to me and given that I want to upgrade the guitar soon, I just don't see the point of spending that kind of money on it.