An electromagnetic microphone (EMF microphone) opens up a previously hidden world of interesting sounds. It is very easy to make yourself (e.g. “telephone coil”).
By the way: putting effect pedals on all kinds of instruments is always a good idea, whether analog or digital.
Low-budget instruments
Most instruments don’t need a master to get a sound out of them. Instead, they encourage experimentation and expand the scope for the famous “I want to try something” that was at the beginning of many great ideas.
There are now some really good and affordable brands for very different instruments to add many more possibilities to your arsenal and even if the quality can’t usually keep up with sample libraries, it offers enormous flexibility and individual texture.