It was either TALL PAUL…or Eyeball Paul!
first learned on virtual turntables until i got my beatmatching skills perfected and then switched over to some technics. pretty much just had the natural ability to do so i heard it in my head im pretty sure u guys who started djin before it became “the cool thing to do” know what i mean.
I played a few parties just fading different indie rock/pop hits in and out. Liked it and thought you could probably do some awesome stuff with this software (which was virtual dj at the time).
Actually took a course at my uni called “creative DJ:ing” where I learned some basic theory and quite a bit of Ableton (teacher used it…), continued producing in Ableton and moved to Traktor for the DJ:ing…
I got my first set of turntables (cheap mail order magazine pair) for passing my GCSE’s at 16 and some vinyl out of the local HMV. Spent hours everyday practising and DJ’d my first gig soon after at a house party. Many more house parties ensued as I was the only DJ in my year at school and it just led onto bigger and bigger things! Didn’t have youtube or any mags, just practised until I wasn’t crap anymore.
However, controllerism… I mostly learn’t from here! Cheers 
Back when I started, I learned all the basics on my own. There was no one to teach me or guide me. Internet wasn’t available yet and DJ/mobile magazines were hard to come by. After a few months of getting to know and figured out the basic essentials, I put up my small mobile rig and used whatever cheap equipment I could afford. I had a handed down mixer from a cousin which was the Weston MX900, a Kenwood turntable with out pitch control and a belt driven Technics turntable with two separate knobs for pitch control. One for 33rpm and the other knob for 45rpm. Some home Pioneer and Sony 12" speakers and Sansui and Pioneer integrated amplifiers. In 1991, I got my first set of Technics SL1200 MK3 (Japan version finished in black). I also got my first Numark mixer, DM1150 model.
A year later from the time I started, I was hired by a big mobile company as a reliever DJ. Meaning I should go to every mobile booking but can only play on either situations:
-when the one of the DJs assigned couldn’t make it
-when the event requires a DJ who will play very early opening or really late closing sets
Eventually a year later, I became a regular and have been assigned to school dance events, school fairs, debuts and other events.
Fast forward to 1994, I transferred to another mobile and was promoted to head DJ six months later. It wasn’t as big as the previous mobile I worked with but had almost the same good equipment only lesser in numbers. Technics SL1200s, Pioneer CDJ500, Numark DM1975, Lab Gruppen Amplifiers, JBL Speakers, Martin & Geni lights, etc.
In 1998, I stopped DJing because I started working for a corporate company. At the same time, my dad assigned me to manage one of our family businesses. So basically I didn’t have time to DJ anymore. I sold my mixer but kept the 1200s. I had about 1500 records and many of them were borrowed by friends but majority of them never came back. I had about 1500 records from my 1990 -1998 vinyl collection. In mid 2000, that’s when I realized that I wanted to go back to DJing. So I bought a small Numark mixer (DM950) and got my pair of 1200s from my parents house which have been kept in the storage room for nearly 2 years. In 2003, my friends and I put up a shop and sold DJ/Audio & lighting equipment here in Manila. Unfortunately, that shop only lasted for a year and six months because we had many issues with our supplier.
Back in the 90s, I used to play everything. From House to Hiphop, Techno, Trance, Retro and 70s Disco. But since I went back to DJing in 2000, I stuck to EDM. Deep/Soulful/Funky/Latin/Disco/Progressive house. Although I still play 90s stuff once in a while. In that same year, I also began doing residencies in clubs and bars. I also traveled to other places and flew to other islands in the country for gigs.
Currently I have a residency at Opus at the Resorts World (http://www.opusmanila.com/lounge.htmll) here in Manila and I also specialize in refurbishing, customizing and modifying Technics SL1200/1210 turntables, aside from that I also do professional car detailing and and diecast car craft modeller as well. 
Started working as a live sound tech for a small production company, spent my time at gigs watching the djs and learning the cdj1000s. Turned out I was really good at song selection and would dig through cds for my friend while he spun. Pretty soon I would jump on the cdjs and cover for him on breaks.
Couldn’t afford my own gear at the time, so I would practice at home on virtual dj and spin on my friends’ cdjs. Then I discovered controllers, became the first “digital dj” in my area, and 5 years later here I am djing for a living.
I learn it by practicing a lot and reading How to DJ Right. That book is the best thing you can get. It is even good for pro’s its not only for beginners.
A DJ tricked me into taking over his Wed and Fri evening slots, vinyl. Had to learn to beat-match while doing the gig .
I am just starting and I am wingin’ it! Dont have any friends that dj but i like to watch a lot of dj’s in club/concert setting and love music. Dabble in a few instruments here and there so i understand the concept of music and how it comes together. I think my biggest battle is going to be learning all the aspects of my controller how it works. Once i get that down i will move on to bigger and better things like some serious cdj’s or someting. One step at a time.
Really gotta get up to speed on some youtubing though…
I was in a band, we split up - I put my amp and guitar on ebay and got an e-mail from a chap in Essex saying he’s swamp a pair of deck, a mixer, some speakers and vinyl… I bought some more records and taught myself to mix.
In fact I started playing gigs before I could even beatmatch. That came later. I guess I learned half of what i know on stage…
Interesting story. Good for you!
Taught myself off the forums.
I learned / understood the concept of Beatmatching from our very own JesC and Charles Feelgood who used to run the Orange County DJTT store. This is me learning from them.
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taught myself and watched a couple youtube videos. I think the main thing is just practice and if something works put it in your mental bank of cool dj things and if it sucks either forget it or tweak it till it sounds good.
like others have said i pretty much taught myself, have friends that dj and asked them for advice, had a half hour beatmatching lesson and away i went. i honestly have learned most of the technical stuff from here, this forum should be in any beginners dj guide.
Where in Oc is this?
It closed
Still very new, but learned beatmatching and all the basics on my own with just trial and error, but my buddy taught me all the technical aspects and picking out and curing the flaws I had. This was all in 1 night too. Was in shock on how much more there was to beatmatching!
My noob story will bore you to death..
I started to have an interest in the whole mixing thing way back in 2006. I’ve listened to enough radioshows such as ASOT & PvD mixed CDs along the way & the transition to the next track fascinates me.
So i made a research, read a lot from various sites & forums on how it was done. So i tried using Ableton ver 5, Youtube plus forum tutorial on how to warp tracks & align them so that they transition seamlessly…it works, but still have to do a lot of the ‘studio’ work of just mixing 2 tracks together. Stumbled upon VDJ ver 4 & tried that thing coz it resembles more like a traditional dj setup, only in software..it does not make any sense, especially when thinking of grabbing the vinyl by mouse/touchpad! finally get the hang of it 4 months later. Used VDJ4 as it is without any controllers (at that time items related to dj gear is almost non existent locally at my place, only can be bought online…which i never have the nerve to do back then due to the stories of online scam). Nevertheless I made a lot of mixsets, podcasts, online radio mix, 10min youtube megamixes with only VDJ4/5 & the laptop touchpad…this workflow lasted me for about 2.5 years..
Finally managed to buy my very 1st dj hardware in Nov 2007, that is a Vestax PMC 07 scratch mixer from a local forum member. without any turntables or cd players the mixer was useless by itself. I kept it in the closet for 3 months. In Feb 2008 managed to get a pair of CDJ800mk2, like new & only few months old. after a few tries on connection that thing finally come to life! i was soo excited (my hands are shaking just from touching them alone…i feel like a caveman meeting something new, never saw a real dj setup up close in life) the 1st 4 hours i can barely sit trying to matching beats until i managed to nail it down! not to mention i’m losing a week of sleep
And the rest is history…nothing can beat the 1st feeling of joy even though i have upgraded & moved on…
Played records as a baby - from 2 years old onwards (i have pictures and videos to prove this).
Got decks when i was 14 - Learned my music and got a deeper interest.
Got a residency - learned the basics of mixing, beatmatching and song selection there.
Got a nightclub residency - Got further in depth earned some badges and a bit of a name.
Skipped back and forth the two smaller clubs in my town until a DJ Comp.
Came second in a DJ comp (lost out by 1 mark) - progressed to the biggest residency in the town.
The head DJ fine tuned my skills (first time i had help from another person other than a book) and now got the second biggest residency in the town.
1 happy DJ.
I bought a used macbook pro that had a copy of ableton live installed on it. After arsing about and throwing a few mashups together at a party I decided to start throwing a bit of money at some entry levl gear, a BCD3000(haha) things escalated from there and I now have my own portable sound system and the beginnings of a decent vinyl collection.
The funny thing about my rise to prominence is that I started at the absolute digital end of the spectrum and have worked backwards towards the old analog tables and a mixer standard. This is nice because I have a thorough understanding of the technology and I don’t have to fight it like some old school DJ’s switching to digital setups.