I am a novice at quilting, so with each one I try a new method. I first tried the herringbone basting stitch with basting thread and long needles and then tried the saftey pins using the Kwik Klip tool. The saftey pins are easier and faster to put in, but I felt more uneasy while learning FMQ when those pins were there. Even though I removed some in the area I was FMQ, I still felt apprehensive that I would veer off-course and hit a safety pin. Stitching near basting stitches that hadn't been removed wasn't as scary!
Harriet Hargrave wrote a book about machine quilting on a DSM. She recommended pinning/basting on a table with the edges of the quilt hanging off. You should be able to reach the middle of the quilt from both sides and gravity pulls the layers to the correct amount of tension without having to tape. All you have to do is mark the table's midpoints with something like a taped toothpick so you keep the backing and top centered.
Sharon Schaumber (sp? sorry I'm at work) has a you tube video that demonstrates how she layers the quilt by rolling on a board and basting with the herring bone stitch.
I'm going to baste a new queen-sized quilt in the next few weeks, and I think I'll go back to using Harriet's table method and Sharon's basting stitch.