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you will definitely technically get better at playing your instrument. you will meet lots of other musicians. you might lose any ability to play with feeling
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All are totally up to you.
I'm not fully qualified to comment on what it's like today, as I went there in the late 1980's.
It was a great experience for me, and I learned a lot, and got to play with some great musicians, and went on to play with some very good bands.
It's like a buffet - if you go and pig out on chips and salsa, you won't get much nutrition.
If you work it right, you'll eat a lot, and eat well.
The people who got the least out of it were generally the kids who went straight out of high school. It was their first time away from home and the control of mom and dad, they were in Hollyweird, and they had a great time. But they didn't learn a whole lot.
The ones who kept an open mind and learned from different people, and either focused on deepening their understanding of their core style, or expanding their understanding of many styles, really learned a lot.
There were also a lot of wankers just going "weedle weeldle weee" for hours on end, bu there were definitely some very, very good musicians with a lot of feel and groove.
Devoting a year of your life to improving your playing is something I definitely and heartily recommend. I'd love to be able to do that again.
