i have a couple of sequencers with 16 steps and about 5 parameters for each step
, and then a bunch of synths and drum machines running.


i have always used textfile for saving sequence and control data for such setups, but if i have a hundred patterns or more, it gets really slow.  i guess its something to do with the way textfile accesses the hard disk.  it's just not very efficient for large amounts of data.

what are my other options?