Analogue-sequencer

Greetings,

I *just* joined this mailing list a day or two ago, so that I could learn
more about the P3. I am particularly interested in the kits, so the
announcement of their discontinuation has me slightly disconcerted. :-)

I was hoping to avoid asking newbie questions, but it seems that I will have
to since I need to decide soon whether or not I wish to build the kit.
Apologies to everyone for this, and thank you for your forbearance.

Question 1: do the kits come with schematics?

Question 2: is the software "open source"? I don't necessarily mean that it
adheres rigorously to the GPL or some other completely open specification.
What I mean is, if I purchase the kit, can I obtain the source code for my
own amusement/edification/recompilation for use in my own P3? 

Question 3, for builders of kits in the United States: what is the total
parts cost, more or less? I realize this varies with choices of panels,
pots, knobs, etc.; I'm just looking for a ballpark estimate (as we say in
this country).

Question 4: I personally would prefer endless rotary encoders rather than
potentiometers. I see that there has been some discussion of this in the
past. What is the feasibility for a kit builder to convert their unit to
encoders? I can do some amount of digital circuit design, can lay out my own
PCBs, write microcontroller firmware, etc. (To some extent this hinges on
the answers to questions 1 and 2.)

I think that covers it, at least for starters. Thanks, everyone. 

--Adam