Interesting observations
As for the faders, they use "touch capacitance" to sense a finger touch(why the caps are silver as they are conductive). Try moving a fader with a fingernail or a pencil....
. For this to work is best, it needs a couple of things; mostly it needs a good connection to your skin, which can be tough in a dry winter. In a worst-case scenario, wearing a wrist grounding strap can help.