Question on string height

[kbc0124]

Hi - this is a noob question on string height. I have just begun playing (about three months ago). Bought a Yamaha RBX170 straight off the shelf, and haven't made any adjustments to the setup. It feels playable enough, but I don't really have any basis for comparison.

My question regarding string height is this - is it normal that the string height increases as you move up the frets? At the first fret, there is barely enough clearance for the string to not buzz. But up the neck the string height continues to rise until at the 20th fret it is noticeably higher. Is this normal, or does it indicate that my neck is not straight? Or perhaps something else?

I don't live in an area where I could easily find a guitar tech, so any basic setup changes I am prepared to attempt myself. But before I go messing with things, I thought I would ask.

Thanks.

[funkstag]

yes because your bass neck should have a little bow in it around the 12th fret.

[Slowgypsy]

At the beginning of this section there is a Sticky that has all sorts of links to doing a setup on your instrument. If you haven't worked on an instrument before, read the section. All sorts of good info there.

[kbc0124]

Thanks guys - good to know. I will check out the Sticky for sure.