Contrary to reports suggesting former Spacehog frontman Royston Langdon is in line to become the new singer of Velvet Revolver, the band is still making up its mind about who will replace Scott Weiland.

Bassist Duff McKagan tells Billboard.com that although Velvet Revolver did play with Langdon and that "he's f*cking awesome, at this point I'd have to say no" on him becoming the new singer.

"We just have to make sure it's the right guy," he says, adding that Weiland's angry departure from the band this spring has brought him closer to group members Slash, Matt Sorum and Dave Kushner. "Karmically, we deserve the right guy. It's a tough thing, man. We make a pretty big noise."

Velvet Revolver isn't so much auditioning vocalists as "just seeing how it feels," McKagan says, adding with a laugh, "We wouldn't know how to do an audition. We wouldn't have somebody come in and go, 'Okay, play 'Slither!' Play 'Fall To Pieces!'"

For now, the band is taking inspiration from its recent personnel drama and channeling it into new material. "We have a bunch of stuff finished. It's great. It's killer," McKagan says. "We started getting really productive when a ton of drama started happening on the road. It was like our safe place to go to. Sometimes that's how you get some feelings out."

One thing McKagan hasn't done is listen to any of the online leaks from his former band Guns N' Roses' long-awaited "Chinese Democracy." "I wouldn't even know where to look," he says, chuckling. "Slash said he heard a couple of tunes. I wish [Axl Rose] all the best."

As reported yesterday, McKagan just finished an album with his side band Loaded, and will play a handful of U.S. and European shows in August and September.