I own and play Guitar, drums. I can manage on a bass but dont own one. I taught myself while growing up but finally took classical guitar in college.
I have played in bars in San Diego about 10 years ago. Mostly acoustic dueo with a friend of mine who now produces music in the smell-A area. (Los Angeles)
Anyone can kick out a random beat on a drum machine but it takes a bit of time and a good ear to mesh and splice together samples that are both preformed or self created.
Right now I am working on one of my songs that has had many forms during its lifetime. Reason does tend to lead to the techno versions of things if you let it go that way. But there are alot of nice drum kit options for rock. Being that you can sample, loop and distort anything there is really no limit beyound your imagination.
I find myself messing with the controls for about an hour just to get that right sound only to add in another loop and have to backtrack to get it all to conform to how I like it.
Then I play it for the wife who gives me that "ok I will listen to this track a 10th time face".
My music preferance is whatever sounds good for the moment I am currently in. Sometimes the most wonderful music at the wrong time is just terrible as I might not be in the mood for it.
Thats the trick for writing and composing. Its how to create a song that introduces itself to the listener and puts them in the mood to listen and absorb, then gets them to feel what it whats them to feel without putting them off.