We’ve already seen a good number of videos by Ableton wizards centering on launching samples or clips on button grids like the Novation Launchpad or the Ableton Push, but how do they fare in terms of capturing the sound and feel of an instrument? Can you play piano on a button grid like the Launchpad or the Push like a true virtuoso? With no velocity sensitivity on the launchpad and no acoustic sound-producing mechanism, purists can make the case that controllers can’t be instruments, and a virtuoso pianist will always trump the button-pusher.

That’s what the following videos are here for. Behold, The Flight of the Bumblebee played on the Ableton Push:

That was Yehezkel Raz on the Ableton Push. But the Push is designed for expression and even being marketed by Ableton as an “instrument” specifically. Surely, he couldn’t play the same piece on any other button gr…

And last but not least, let’s not forget the new Livid Base. Corey McMinn provides us with this expressive and mellow performance on the Base’s 32 touch-sensitive pads: