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Would replacing the bridge pins on my Martin affect my tone? What are the pros and cons of swtiching to brass or ebony bridge pins? (I'm assuming the bridge pins that came on my D15 are plastic, right?)

i like to use ebony pins, brass might give you a little more zing, but they are probably heavier so they might kill some sustain. i havent really played around with different pins in the same guitar

Changing them from plastic to another material (usually harder and/or denser) does seem to improve the tone. Most highly prized are those made from fossilized ivory.

The tone will be clearer and better defined than with plastic or wood pins.

Lew

I put ebony bridge pins in my Taylor, mostly for looks with an abalone dot. At the same time, I slotted the pins for each individual string (they were not slotted before). I think that this improved the sustain and may have made the guitar a little bit louder due to better string-body contact, but am not really sure about this.

Based on my experience replacing plastic nuts, replacing plastic with ebony or something else should improve the sustain and tone in theory. However, looking at the Martin site, your nut is Corian and your saddle is Tusq. They may put in white plastic bridge pins, but only your dog may be able to hear the difference after you replace them

Do any of the luthiers out there have opinions on slotted vs. un-slotted bridge pins?

Chip