Emu XL-7 & MP-7 User's Group

Here's a creative question regarding the Command Station: how do you
like to program basslines on it?

The CS is an excellent rhythm sequencer - I can throw beats together
on it effortlessly. For chords and lead riffs I just play them in live
- couldn't be easier. But I find it tricky to sequence a good bassline:

1. Grid record - great for rhythmic stuff, but I always end up wanting
to move sections up or down in pitch, and this is really tedious to do
on the CS.

2. Realtime record - fine for chords and leads, but I don't find
playing the keypads or my keyboard well suited to the kinds of rapid,
tightly programmed basslines I'm seeking. Maybe I'm just a lousy player.

3. Arpeggios - perhaps the easiest, but creating custom arps is not
really an interactive process, and I don't want to keep re-using the
arp patterns I've already made (or relying on presets).

4. Play a real bass, then recreate the line on the CS - only works for
some stuff, and it's slow.

I'd love to have a kind of analog step sequencer mode (different from
step record); I've considered making a bass patch that routed velocity
to pitch and using the knobs in grid edit mode to tweak - but the
result would only work for that specific patch.

Maybe the CS wants to make basslines in a way I haven't considered,
and I should learn how it wants to be programmed instead of bringing
my own preconceptions to it. Any thoughts, suggestions, tips? What's
worked best for you?