Is the external speaker socket a potentially dangerous thing?

[UrbanAnxiety]

Hi everyone,
I'm not trying to design an amp, but I have a question and you seemed like a nice and knowledgeable bunch as I was looking for a suitable message board to post it to.

Thing is, my friends and I are about to record our first song. We can't be bothered to mic the amp, so we're taking the signal out of the insert loop ... and I noticed the other day that the amp's (it's a Laney) external speaker socket is positioned very close to the insert socket, and accepts the same type of cable. It seems to me like an accident waiting to happen - on stage or in other low light situations, you could easily plug your FX rig into the wrong, i.e. speaker socket and fry a whole bunch of gear, right? And if you plugged in your headphones (there's also a headphone socket, though a bit more to the side), that would probably even be a health hazard. So I was wondering why would they design it like this - any thoughts? Am I even right, being paranoid about it like this?

Thanks in advance.

[J M Fahey]

Not paranoid at all.
You will fry any preamp or effects input that you connect to a loud speaker out.
Many use small protective diodes, but if they short protecting the rest of the circuit, they will make your repair bill smaller, but that night you won't play with that device, that's for sure.
Marshall and others sometimes use a red plastic nut to indicate the speaker out.
They often print small electric ray symbols by them, but as you say, on a dark stage or in a hurry confusions can rise easily.
I would put a couple strips of  white tape both above and below speaker jacks , even without nothing written on them, so as to give a visual clue.

[UrbanAnxiety]

Thanks for the speedy reply, I appreciate it. Now that I know I'm not overreacting, I think I'll insist we cover it up with gaffer tape. Take care.

[Enzo]

And at the risk of sounding like an old fogey, one shouldn't be feeling around in the dark when setting up the gear.  if it is dark, get a flashlight or a work light.  And pay attention to what you are doing.